My Game, Your World
by michiyorain
Summary: Sakuno felt happy again. To know that she could keep up with the regulars made her contented. She ran alongside Ryoma to the laughter of the other regulars. “Nya…two O’chibis with hats looks cute!” Eiji complimented. She smirked.
1. Chapter 1: One Big Decision

Sakuno decided to disguise as a boy to join the Seigaku Tennis team…and find out who this snobbish boy is….

Author's notes: I do not own Prince of Tennis…I just wish I did…

**Chapter 1: One Big Decision**

"One…Two…three…four…five…" Sakuno counted again under her breath. She was hitting tennis balls against the wall for hours now. She knew she needed to train really hard if she wants to be a tennis superstar in the future.

POK.

"Sakuno! Dinner's ready." Her grandmother called from the kitchen. Sakuno was training in the garden.

"Hai!" Sakuno ran inside and stowed her tennis racket on the cabinet beside the door.

Sakuno then seated herself opposite her grandmother. They started eating.

"Sakuno, I know you want to play tennis but you should not over exert yourself. There is only one week left before you enter in junior High. I don't want you getting sick." her grandma started the conversation.

"Why do I have to go to Seigaku, oba-chan?" Sakuno asked. Why of all schools does she have to go to Seigaku. There isn't a girls tennis club in there unlike her past grade school.

"Because I am there. I could easily supervise your training if you are close to me. Anyway, the school is already planning to establish a tennis club for girls. Just wait for a while." Her grandmother answered.

Silence.

"Could I at least join your tennis club?" Sakuno said. She knew her grandmother coaches the boy's tennis team.

"I can't, Sakuno. It is only exclusive for boys. Just wait for the girl's tennis club to open."

"That's it? I can't play tennis because I'm a girl. That's unfair."

"It's the rule, Sakuno."

Sakuno stood up and ran upstairs to her room.

"Sakuno, come back here! You did not finish your dinner."

Why does she have to be a girl. She now hated herself more than anything. Why didn't she become a boy. She knew Seigaku produces the best team in the district. For Boys, just for boys. How she hated that.

She jumped onto the bed, thoughts flooding her mind. What if she become a boy? She could have the chance to join the prestigious tennis club in Seigaku and at the same time train under her grandma. Wouldn't that be nice?

With this idea she ran downstairs and went to her grandma in the kitchen.

"Oba-chan! I could join the Tennis club!" Sakuno exclaimed.

Her grandma looked away from what she was doing and turned to Sakuno.

"Sakuno, haven't we talked about this earlier? Girls aren't allowed to join."

"What if I become a boy, Oba-chan?" Sakuno finally blurted out her idea.

"Sakuno, of all things, why should you do that?"

"Onegai, oba-chan." Sakuno pouted and tried to sound sweet. She also knew her grandmother couldn't resist that.

"But-"

"I'll do my best to not get caught."

"Still, how would you do that?"

"I'll be a boy only on club practice. I promise I'll be good."

"Sakuno…"

"I watched some movies like this in the past. I know the perfect solution." Sakuno reasoned out.

"Well, if you insist…Alright…" I think I'm going to regret this in the future. What have I done? Coach Ryuzaki thought as she tried to restrain Sakuno from hugging her tightly.

"Don't get too excited. There's still a lot of work to be done."

"I know, grandma. Better get started tomorrow." Sakuno released her grandmother and ran to her room to plan for her instant make-over.

Sakuno woke up early that day. She only had six days to prepare herself. She had to learn how to act like a boy, sound like a boy, dress like a boy, play like a boy. She also had to bid her long braided hair farewell if she really want to look like a boy, even though she already started having second thoughts because she really love her hair long. But she started this and she does not want to back out in the measly excuse of her hair.

She stood in front of her cabinet and started sorting her clothes. She discarded her skirts and other shirts and left the baggy ones in the closet. She still needed clothes, and underwear. She was having second thoughts again.

After she cleared her mind, she got ready to go to the mall to buy her new clothes. She still wore one of her skirts and a shirt. This would be the last time I'm going to wear them. She ran out of the house and started walking to the station.

She boarded the train and found a boy with dark green hair sipping Ponta on one side of the cab. Sakuno admitted to herself that he's pretty good-looking especially with the tennis duffel bag slung on his right shoulder. She sat opposite the boy who went on minding his own business. Sakuno watched his sharp cat-like eyes remain emotionless for a short time when three older students got into the train cab. They stood in front of Sakuno and started a loud conversation. From Sakuno's observation, they are from Ginka Junior High, a school near Seigaku. A student with shoulder length brown hair started swishing a tennis racket near Sakuno's face. He seems to be demonstrating something to his friends who ignored her all this time, as if they don't care if she got hit or something.

The students kept talking and laughing loudly and the guy holding the racket still kept on swinging it in front of Sakuno's face. Sakuno tried to say something but was afraid to speak out in case they start beating her. She should be near her station since she could see the towering buildings now. When she got fed up after some time she managed to open her mouth to speak when…

"Could you please stop that?" the boy opposite her suddenly voiced out.

Sakuno began to get worried as the Ginka students stopped and looked on the small interference.

Luckily. The train reached a stop and the boy and Sakuno got out of the station. Sakuno wanted to thank the boy and started following him.

He stopped near a pillar of the station and turned around. He saw Sakuno walking towards his direction. When Sakuno got nearer he tried to ask for direction.

"Um…Could you please tell me where this is?" he asked as he showed Sakuno a piece of paper with the name of a tennis court written on it.

Sakuno was nervous. She knew the place but does not know how to get there. Being bad in directions, she couldn't answer the boy.

She started pointing out some directions to him. She wanted to tell him that she wasn't sure about that but he turned around and walked away after thanking her.

"Er…wait…Thanks for what you did earlier on the train." Sakuno blurted out.

The boy turned back.

"Do I know you?" he asked.

"Um…you saved me from those students on the train."

"Er…I didn't see you. I stopped them because they are so noisy." He replied then went on his way.

Sakuno felt embarrassed. She quickly withdrew and went to the mall. She'll remember that boy for a long time.

Sakuno entered the boys section. This is it. How is she going to excuse herself from buying boy's clothes?

She started picking out shirts. She bought shirts, sweaters, jackets, pants and other necessary things. The clerks didn't even bother asking Sakuno why she bought those that kept Sakuno's worries intact.

Next she went to the cosmetics section and asked to buy a body wrap. The saleslady gladly gave her the wrap and Sakuno paid for it.

She bought shoes and a white cap from the sports center and decided to go home.

Ryoma found himself in front of a burger joint. Where am I? He was going around for hours now but he still hadn't found the place he was looking for. He just followed the directions of that girl at the station. I think she gave wrong directions.

Sakuno was walking to the station when her stomach growled she hadn't eaten for hours now. She saw a burger joint nearby. She decided to eat before she go home.

She walked over to the burger joint. A child suddenly ran in front of her that caused Sakuno to trip over. She felt herself falling and hitting someone in the process.

Ryoma tried to stand up but somebody was on top of him adding the numerous shopping bags surrounding him that somewhat crowded his vision. He felt the one on top of him move away. He stood up and turned to face the troublemaker.

"Gomen…" Sakuno said as she tried to gather up her bags. She did not look up.

"Here." Ryoma picked over a bag and handed it to her. People were now looking at them and whispering things. They're becoming irritating.

"Thanks." Sakuno looked up and saw the boy in the station peering down on her.

"Betzuni…" Ryoma lowered his cap and started walking away.

"Wait…" Sakuno tried to catch up.

"Nani?"

"What's your name?"

Ryoma thought for a few seconds before answering. "Echizen Ryoma."

"Arigatou Gozaimasu Echizen-kun." Sakuno gave a quick bow and went on her way.

Ryoma saw her leave and also left. Maybe he could postpone going to the tennis court today since it's late already.

After about an hour, Sakuno is ready. She wore a body wrap around her chest then changed into her newly bought boy's clothes. She put on a cap to hide her hair.

"Sakuno, you look like a boy now, judging from here I won't guess you're a girl." Tomoka said, amazed at her best friend's transformation.

"I'll just wear this during club activities." Sakuno said, examining herself in the mirror. "I'll still hung-out with you during classes. As a girl."

"Alright Sakuno-chan." Tomoka said as she prepared to leave.


	2. Chapter 2: Dual Personality

**Thanks for the reviews…I appreciate it very much**

**I wrote this with my classmate, Aziel! And to Nica…eto na ung kinababaliwan mo…Pero alam ko siya yung Seiyuu ni Ryoma…Ganda ba ng name? Galing talaga nyang kumanta!**

**Forgive me if I got something wrong with how they play tennis. Especially the scoring.**

**It's Summer Vacation now!!!!!!!!!!!!!I'm so happy…There's no classes for two months…**

**Disclaimer: Again…I do not own Prince of Tennis…only the plot on this fanfic**

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**Chapter 2: Dual Personality**

"Sakuno, hurry up!." Tomoka said as they walked to school. It's the first day of classes and they were already wearing their uniforms.

"Wait up! Tomo-chan."

"It's okay. You look better today."

"I feel good about myself too."

"Does your Grandma know about this?"

"Yeah, but she still kept on worrying about me."

"I understand her, me too."

"I'll just be like this until the girl's tennis club opens up."

"Why couldn't you just wait?"

"Grandma wasn't even sure if it will open, besides, I would be wasting time waiting for something unsure."

"Here we are." Tomoka dragged her amidst the crowd of students in front of the bulletin board.

"Look! We are still classmates!" Tomoka shouted.

"That's great."

"That would still continue our record. Classmates since nursery."

"I know." Sakuno peered over the list of students in her class, as if trying to find out if there are other friends in her class. But one name caught her interest. Echizen Ryoma. So, he is also studying here. It would be fun being his friend. Maybe.

They entered the assigned classroom and took their seats. Sakuno looked around the unfamiliar faces that she would soon know. Echizen Ryoma isn't there yet. Sakuno looked at her wristwatch. Only ten minutes before class starts. So, he has a pettish for being late. So like his type.

Ten minutes passed and he still didn't come. The teacher entered and spoke to them.

"Welcome class, I'm Kanagawa Mizawa, your class adviser. I welcome you to Seishun Gakuen junior High. Please stand up once I call your name and introduce yourself."

The teacher started roll call and the class eagerly listened as they start sharing their hobbies and likes.

Sakuno noticed that Ryoma hadn't arrived yet. As she started to think over the sliding door opened and a harassed looking Ryoma. His hair was still disheveled and the buttons of his uniform not yet done. He took a seat next to Sakuno and started buttoning up his shirt. Everyone was looking at him but he seem to not mind. The teacher looked at the student list and broke the silence.

"If I'm not mistaken, you are Echizen Ryoma right?" the teacher inquired. "Would you mind to tell me why you are late?"

"I'm still not used to the time here. I just arrived from America two days ago. I somehow overslept." To tell the truth that pervert of an old man kept on talking on talking about stupid things. Who told him I want a girlfriend anyway? Ryoma thought

The class stared at him like he was some kind of superior.

"Would you mind to introduce yourself?"

Ryoma stood and started introducing himself.

"Echizen Ryoma. 12 years old. I lived in America for two years and went here to attend my father's Junior high school too."

All the girls in the class started swooning. He's drop dead gorgeous. Even Sakuno seemed to give him a thought since he sat beside her. Tomoka almost fell off her chair.

The teacher cleared his throat to divert the attention from Ryoma who already took his seat.

"Ryuzaki Sakuno!"

Sakuno immediately stood up and introduced herself.

"Ryuzaki Sakuno. 12 years old. I play Tennis and want to be a top Tennis player in the future."

She caught a glimpse of Ryoma looking at her which made her blush as she took her seat.

" Okay. That's it. Now let us discuss the school regulations and disciplinary measures."

The day wore on smoothly as the hours passed.

"This is it. I'm going to do this." Sakuno said to Tomoka as they were walking to the courts. She already changed into the clothes she bought and her hair hidden under a cap.

"Ganbatte, Sakuno-chan." Tomoka whispered in case somebody hears them.

"Arigatou Tomo-chan." Sakuno said in a deeper tone that made it boyish. Both of them giggled.

They reached the tennis courts which is now crowded with male students. Some first years and others just watching.

Sakuno entered the court and waited for the Coach and the captain. She already told her Grandma her new name and she knew it. Minagawa Junko.

She saw some of her classmates and she wasn't surprised that Ryoma was also there. She tried to converse with him but the Captain entered followed by the Coach and ordered everybody to fall in line.

A tall young man stood in front and introduced himself as Captain Tezuka Kunimitsu. Beside him was the other regular members of the club. So this is the tennis regulars her grandma was very proud of. The vice captain, Syuichiroh Oishi started calling the names of the new members. Each member raised their hand as they were called. She saw her grandma smile at her as her fake name was called.

Soon they were dismissed after reminders and encouragement from the regulars. Sakuno went on her way. The first day of her new personality went undiscovered. Tomorrow the tryouts for the regular spot begins. This would be a tough one though. There are only 8 spots.

Sakuno woke up early and started running around the house. She need to warm up since she qualified to join the tryouts. She's going to have to fight her sempais to win a place. She felt excited. After a few laps she went inside and got ready for school. She brought her racket with her before she left after eating breakfast with her grandmother.

She ran to school as part of her warm up and waited for classes to end.

She got into the court thirty minutes before the expected start of the tryout. She enlisted on the tryout and got on the same block as Sempai Fuji and another new member. She rested for a while then went back to stretching. She saw Ryoma getting ready on the other side of the court. Sakuno started practicing some moves she learned from her grandma when she had free time. Maybe she could also use them in her matches because some of them are hard to return.

The afternoon wore on. Sakuno was slightly shocked to know that Ryoma had beaten two Sempais at his block and became a regular. This day proved to be beyond Sakuno's imagination.

Sakuno's game started. She had to win a match against Okayasu Kairi, a second year. The game started smoothly for Sakuno. She returned all the smashes and serves easily. After some time she noticed that Kairi was panting. Sakuno used this to her advantage as she started hitting balls at opposite sides of the court that made Kairi chase them.

"6-1 Game Set and Match to Minagawa Junko!"

Sakuno was very happy. She won her first match.

After a short break, she got on the court again. Her next match, Sempai Fuji, greeted her.

"Do your best, Minagawa!"

Sakuno just nodded.

"One set match. Minagawa to serve!"

Sakuno got ready. She let the ball bounce on the court. She hit it with all her might. Fuji returned it and the game started.

After some time, Sakuno was already panting. She did all her best but to no avail. He is a formidable player. His last serve was hard to catch.

"Game set and Match to Fuji! 6 games to 4!"

Sakuno lost her match. She did not become a regular.

"Nice match, Minagawa." Fuji offered a hand to Sakuno who was sitting on the ground. Sakuno smiled and took it. Everyone started clapping.

"Nya…Minagawa-chan! You're great! I couldn't score like that to Fuji!" Eiji shouted as he bounced around.

"Better watch out on him." Inui whispered to Tezuka.

After all the matches for that day, There were some announcements and they were all off. Tomorrow, the training for the regulars and the non-regulars intensifies.

" Yeah…before I forget…Echizen! Minagawa!" Inui added.

"Nani?" the two answered in unison.

"Start drinking milk from now on…"

"Hai!" Ryoma and Sakuno answered timidly. She does not like milk and Ryoma doesn't care less. He looked at Eiji and Momo who was rolling on the ground with laughter. God knows what they are being merry about this time.

Sakuno got ready to go home. She did not even bother change her clothes in case someone might catch her. She grabbed her things and went on her way after bidding the coach goodbye. She tried hard not to talk so that the others won't get suspicious with her voice.

Sakuno woke up early again and did her routine. She almost fell asleep in class. She was excited again. Being a boy during the afternoon became funny to her. It was as if she was leading a double life.

At last the much awaited training session arrived. Sakuno changed into her new clothes and cap and went into the court to practice.

"All club members line up here!" Inui shouted. All lined up in front of him outside the courts. "This test of stamina would prove who is the player who could stay up the whole match. You all have to run 3 laps around the three courts in 2 minutes!" he added. Everybody got ready to run. "Those who would not make it would have to drink my Inui special nutritional penalty juice. It sure is going to improve your stamina." He said, flashing a somewhat greenish liquid in front of them.

Everybody watched as a second year moved towards Inui's juice. "You said this could improve my stamina, eh? Let me try it before I run." With that he drank the greenish liquid in front of everyone as Inui let out a sly smile. "Ii data." He murmured as he got ready to take notes in his forever handy-dandy notebook.

After about five seconds of watching the guy sip the juice. The whole club anticipated what its taste was. To their horror, the guy fell to the ground and started wriggling unconsciously. He looked as if he was poisoned and this sent shivers down every club member's spine. Except Fuji who never lose his creepy smile and Tezuka who remained passive as always. Everybody felt the need to finish the laps or else. In Inui's signal everybody ran as fast as they can to finish the laps. There are three courts they have to run around. Almost everybody fell after the first lap which left Sakuno, the other regulars and 6 others running. They passed many people lying on the ground with empty cups in their hands and all looked like dead. After the second lap only the regulars and Sakuno were left.

Sakuno felt happy again. To know that she could keep up with the regulars made her contented. She ran alongside Ryoma to the laughter of the other regulars. "Nya…two O'chibis with hats looks cute!" Eiji complimented.

They all reached the finish line just in time that Sakuno was relaxed. She wouldn't have to drink the penal-tea! They all sat down on the ground because they were all tired.

"I…made..it! What…a…relief1" Eiji said, panting.

"I see Inui's juice got better this year…Pity I did I get to drink it first. Wanna try some next time." Fuji said while looking at the others.

"No, it did not!" Eiji, Momo and Taka shouted. Kaidoh settled with an audible hiss.

"Is it really that bad?" Sakuno, as Junko, asked.

"Yeah, he wants to kill us all before we got to play soon enough." Momo answered.

"They are the punishment for a mistake in practice. You've got to watch what you're doing if you do not want to die early." Oishi warned.

"He puts them everywhere so we could accidentally drink it!" Eiji said with a quivering voice.

That was just enough to scare Sakuno about Inui. Better make no mistakes, she thought.

"Hey! Who said you could sit there? Stand up!" the coach ordered. Although complaining they all did as they were told.

"Since all of you finished the laps, we are going to have practice matches. Once I call your name, get inside the court." Inui ordered. "Minagawa , Echizen!"

Sakuno excitedly went inside the court but didn't let anyone notice her. The other regulars were lined outside the fence, watching them which gave Sakuno a bout of shyness.

"One set match, Minagawa to serve!"

Sakuno did her service game, but Ryoma kept on returning her shots. She sent shots to different sides of the court. At first, Ryoma could not return them easily which gave Sakuno some advantage but he got used to it and soon coped up again.

"4 games to 3!"

Sakuno was down by 2 games. She really needed to win now more than ever to avoid that horrible juice.

"Although he's not a regular, I think he's great." Fuji commented.

"O'chibis sure makes good tennis players." Eiji added.

"Who's your bet."

"Echizen." They all said.

"Though this game might take long, I bet Echizen would still win. What do you think?" Fuji asked a silent Kawamura.

"Umm…I don't know either…" he answered feeling somewhat a bit shy.

Fuji handed a racket to Taka to hype things up.

"DO YOUR BEST O'CHIBIS!!!" he shouted, swinging the racket above their heads while Eiji and Oishi try to take away the racket from him before he hits anyone.

Ryoma was in the lead again and decided to test his opponent. He sent a difficult shot he practiced some days ago. It went straight to Sakuno, almost all the regulars thought that's he would be hit in the face when…

"What happened?" Horio uttured from the stands.

"That's a good one, Minagawa!' Momo cheered.

"He slid sideways and hit the ball upward. Echizen must have not anticipated that he could return it so he did not respond quickly enough to hit it back as well. I think he could not even do that since the ball dropped when it passed the net. More or less like Tezuka's zero-shiki drop shot but there is a difference with the way they hit." Inui responded while writing down on his notebook.

Even though everyone was still perflexed, the match continued.

"Deuce!" the scorer announced.

"Ne…They got a tie!" Eiji said.

"This would take longer than I thought." Fuji added.

"Everyone! Gather inside the court!" Coach Ryuzaki suddenly called out, earning groans and complaints from the club. It cancelled Echizen and Minagawa's tie breaking match.

"I'm sorry to say this but I have to cut this afternoon's practice. The Supervisors, and officers of each club are asked by the Student council now. That means Tezuka, Oishi and I are needed. Everyone could now go home and rest." Coach announced.

Even though complaining at their frustration, they followed suit and got their things.

Ryoma was slightly angry at the interruption and so does Sakuno. It was such a close fight! Maybe some other time though, they both thought to themselves. And they were both glad that they have escaped some really scary punishment after all.


	3. Chapter 3: Lunch Talk

**Here it is…the third chapter…Actually, it is Aziel who came up with this chapter…Arigatou gozaimasu Kaoru-chan!!!**

**Disclaimer: You should have known it already…**

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**Chapter 3: Lunch Talk**

Sakuno was sitting alone, thoughts flooding in her mind, during class. She had already started drinking milk. She also knew that it would do her good but something really kept bugging her mind. Though it's only been two months since she joined the Tennis Club, is it really worth it? She's pondering on that when the bell rang.

"C'mon Sakuno-chan! Let's eat! I prepared a lot of food for you and for Ryoma-sama!" Tomo, her ever loud friend brought her out of her reverie.

"Tomo, keep your voice down…You're approximately just one meter away from me…There's no need to shout…" Sakuno answered her friend. Then she remembers that she's got some extra pack of milk in her bag and decides to go with her. Before they leave, another voice almost shattered Sakuno's eardrums.

"Can we eat with you?" Horio said and behind him was Kachiro and Katsuo.

"Oh please------," before Tomoka finishes what she was saying, Sakuno interrupted.

"Sure you can, besides Tomo prepared a lot of food!" Then she winked to Tomo who was already fuming. "It's quite nice to have new friends."

And so it happens and the five of them were walking to the school cafeteria as Tomo was still mad at the intrusion of the three boys of what was to be their leisure time with Ryoma and Horio talking about his two years of Tennis experience (as usual). Finally they reached where Ryoma was seated. It was really easy to spot him since he was sitting alone on a large table. Sakuno wondered why no one sat with Ryoma when obviously almost all the girls in Seigaku have a crush on him.

Tomoka got out of her sadness and ran instantly to where Ryoma was seated, thinking that in case some girls might beat her to it. Skauno and the Freshmen trio followed. As they sat next to a slightly startled Ryoma, they could sense that it has gone quiet and heads turn towards them. Sakuno became conscious of their state and looked around once more. Some were looking at them like they were hateful creatures while she glimpse of a girl who had teary eyes and one minute of watching Sakuno sitting beside Ryoma made her burst into tears and had to cry on a friends shoulder. Ryoma, seeing Sakuno staring at something, got curious and looked around. Instantly, everyone came back to what they were doing before Ryoma could see. Sakuno sweatdropped when she saw the same girl crying previously seemed to revert back to her former mood of happily talking to her friends. "_What the hell is wrong with these people?" _Sakuno thought as she reverted back her attention to her lunch. The trio were sitting opposite them while Ryoma sat in between Sakuno and Tomoka.

They ate quietly. Tomoka, finding the lack of conversation matters irritating, breaks the uncomfortable silence to stop the tension.

"Ryoma-sama, I-I made… this… for you…" Tomoka offered. Sakuno, hearing Tomoka stutter for the first time in her life, tried really hard to suppress her glee so as not to ruin the current mood.

Ryoma reluctantly took it with a slightly audible thank you. Sakuno felt a little annoyed, not because of the bento that Tomoka made because there's no question about it that Tomo is a good cook…It's just, she can't explain why she suddenly felt left out but she just ignored it and tried to be happy for her best friend.

"So Ryoma," Horio said while giving him a "friendly handshake". " I'm Horio…Don't be so sure of yourself that you are now a regular. I just gave you the opportunity to get that place, since for beginners, I'm just being kind…" he said, much to the irritation of Ryoma.

"Stop your nonsense, Horio! I know Ryoma-sama is really good in Tennis and you can't deny it." She stopped then turned to Ryoma, "Aren't you even going to defend yourself?"

Ryoma who hadn't really listened to Horio while he was talking, showed no emotion on his face as the two fought.

Tomoka and Horio were making such a ruckus in the cafeteria that everyone was now looking at them. Sakuno, Kachiro and Katsuo, seeing the commotion the two were making, tried to stop the two from biting each other's head off.

"Horio, we are the intruder here, so don't pick a fight," said Kachiro, feeling guilty.

"Gomen, I-I'm the one whose responsible for bringing------," Sakuno said, her voice quivering as she tried to talk to Ryoma, who decided to listen to her. Behind the is one of their sempai, holding a tray of food.

Katsuo looked up and exclaimed, "Fukubuchou!"

"What's the problem here?" Oishi said calmly. Horio hearing the familiar voice, became pale and so does Tomoka and Kachiro.

"Umm…nothing really, Sempai!" Horio voiced out.

"You're making a disturbance to everyone in here. Stop it or else a teacher might hear you. Do I make myself clear?"

"Hai, Sempai!" they said. Oishi took his leave then.

Horio sat down and tried to finish his lunch. Tomoka kept quiet also. After a few minutes…

"This is so your fault…" Tomoka hinted.

"What?!? You-----,"

"…" goes Ryoma, Sakuno, Kachiro and Katsuo.

On the other hand, Kaidoh is minding his own business, praying over his food, much to the amazement of everyone around him who tried to follow the good habit as well.

"Hey guys! My father prepared us sushi!" Taka announced.

He was in his classroom with Eiji, Oishi, and Fuji. They turned their seats so they faced each other. They all got bentos in their desks.

"Can we eat now? I really find those sushi very tempting!" Eiji said, ready to pounce on the food anytime now. Fuji was smiling as usual when he saw Inui walking towards them wearing a white Lab gown.

"I thought you are doing something in the Lab, Inui?" Fuji asked. That was when the other three acknowledged Inui's arrival.

"Inui! You came just in time! We're having lunch, dude!" Eiji shouted, still eyeing the still untouched sushi.

"I already ate in the Lab. So busy. Anyway, I just came here to gather some data about this new juice I was about to introduce this afternoon. But I really can't wait for your gleeful reactions that I want to test it now." Said Inui in a really creepy voice that made them (except Fuji) really really frightened.

"Really? Could I have the first go? I really want to taste it before the others could enjoy it." Fuji asked. Inui happily handed him a cup of cold yellowish liquid. Fuji thanked him then drank the juice. After about 10 seconds, Fuji gave the cup back with a very satisfied smile plastered on his face.

"I wonder how you always make it better everytime!" Fuji praised Inui.

"No! He just makes it more deadly!" Eiji intervened.

This made Inui look more barbaric as he tried to hand the other three another cup.

"No thanks, Inui! I'm already full, gotta go guys! I just remembered I need to go home early! See ya!" Eiji refused, bidding them farewell.

"Yeah, me too! I need to go home now!" Taka said running after Eiji.

"I guess I should excuse myself…hehe…Bye!" Oishi said and took off.

Fuji and Inui watched them with puzzled looks glued on their faces. Fuji looked at the forgotten bentos. They were left untouched.

"And I thought Eiji was gonna starve to death earlier." Fuji said to Inui. "Wanna share this?" he pointed to the bentos. Inui let out a grin.

At the cafeteria, Momoshiro stopped when he saw Ryoma seated between two girls. He immediately walked to his kouhai.

"Hey, Echizen! Having a good time with this two pretty ladies, aren't you? You…anyway I thought you're a well-behaved brat and the I'll see you you with girls side by side?! Hah! Your seduction techniques goes pretty well with your standing as a regular!" Momo said remarkably.

"what are you talking about? Are you off you're rocket or something?" Ryoma said, extremely annoyed at how his lunch turned out.

" Oh, c'mon, don't deny obvious things like that to me!" Momo said. "Anyway, let's talk about it over at practice. Gotta go now, can't keep food waiting. Bye ladies!"

Momo left and went to his classroom bringing a tray filled with so much food It'll make you wonder how it fitted there.

"Sempai Momo sure eats a lot. He could eat all the food in our cafeteria anytime." Tomo said as they watched Momo leave.

Somehow, Sakuno's thoughts were farfetched from what Tomoka was saying.She's starting to have a dilemma as to how to give the boy next to her the milk. She thought to herself to do it quick so as not to annoy him some other time.

"Anou…Ryoma-kun, I-I want to g-give you yhis…"she stuttered while her hands were trembling and she was turning into a human tomato. The blank look on his face made Sakuno think he would refuse but she was surprised when he took the milk and left with a slightly audible thanks.

"Nice, Sakuno! He accepted the milk you gave him but the bento I prepared for him was left untouched…" Tomoka said with an envious tone.

'Sorry, Tomo-chan…" Sakuno really felt sorry for her best friend.

"Let's just buy a double strawberry sundae after class to ease this up!"

"But I have Tennis practice after classes." Sakuno said reluctantly.

"On Saturday, it is…I could still wait two more days."

They walked back to class. Tomoka looked at Sakuno and stopped in her tracks.

"What is it?" Sakuno asked while looking around to find what Tomoka is staring at.

"You know what, Sakuno?" Tomoka said looking at Sakuno.

"Something wrong with my hair?" Sakuno said when she noticed that Tomoka was actually looking at her auburn hair.

"Nothing…It's just that you look a lot better since you settled for shoulder-length hair and had them in a ponytail."

Sakuno withdrew her hand from her ponytail as she almost tried to redo it and smiled to her best friend.

"Arigatou, Tomo-chan!"

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**Sorry…short chapter…But I'll update again tomorrow…**


	4. Chapter 4: Almost Caught

**Since I don't know where Sakuno's parents are, I assumed that they were working overseas. Most probably, America.**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Almost caught**

After practice, Junko grabbed his bag and went home. He was walking along the empty street when he suddenly chanced upon a furry brown cat. Junko moved closer and tried to pet the adorably cute cat. He patted it on the head and he began talking to the cat.

"Hello, why are you here alone? Are you lost?" Sakuno said in her normal voice, different from what she sound when talking to other members of the tennis club, as if the cat would actually answer her questions.

The cat just purred and started rubbing its tummy against Sakuno's hands.

"You're so cute and sweet! I wish I have a cat like you!" Sakuno exclaimed.

Ryoma was walking along the street to his house silently sipping on his ever present Ponta. As he trudged in the familiar way home, he heard a giggles of what sound like from a girl. He turned around the street and spotted a boy sitting on the street murmuring something. He could see a glimmer of brown fur as he approached. He recognized the white hat and the duffel bag.

Sakuno was still taking note of how extremely cute the cat is when it stopped rubbing itself against her hand and walked to her back. Sakuno leaned back to see where it was going when she saw Ryoma walking towards the cat. She immediately stood up and arranged her shirt, cursing herself if she got caught through this accident.

"Karupin! What are you doing here? That baka oyaji did not watch over you while I'm gone, didn't he?" Ryoma said as he scooped up the cat from the ground.

Seeing Ryoma did not pay any attention to her, she walked away silently.

"Hoi! Hoi! You two!" a voice called out. Sakuno stopped instantly thinking that it was referring to Ryoma and her.

"Echizen! Minagawa! What are you two doing here?" Eiji asked as Momo appeared behind him.

"Nothing…" Ryoma answered.

"We were trying to catch up with you! Wanna go for some burgers?" the two asked Ryoma.

"No…" he answered but he think they did not hear since they beagn harassing Minagawa. They were now bickering Minagawa to join them.

"C'mon! The more the merrier."

"Yeah! Listen to your Sempais!"

"I can't possibly ," Junko was interrupted before he could refuse.

"Nonsense! Just come! We can't take no for an answer!" Momo dragged Ryoma while Eiji had Junko in an arm lock.

"Wait, Sempai! How about my cat?" Ryoma protested, still holding Karupin.

As they rounded up the corner, Ryoma saw Nanako holding a plastic bag on one hand. She saw them so she called out.

"Ryoma, where are you going with your friends?" she asked.

"They're dragging me to get some burgers…" he answered.

Sakuno, Eiji and Momo was still amzed at how beautiful Nanako is.

"Oh, I see! Let me take Karupin home." Nanako reached out for Karupin who happily pounced at her. "Be sure to come back before dinner!" and with that she left them.

"Ne…Echizen….You did not say you have such a cute sister…" Eiji said.

"She's not my sister…She's my cousin…"

"Oh, right! Anyway, Let's go!" Momo shouted.

They managed to arrive in the burger joint after attracting too much attention on the streets and too much curses from Ryoma.

Momo got first in line. The woman behind the register had such a hard time following his orders. After about 10 minutes of scrambling, she managed to get all and get done. She let out a sigh of relief. Never had she served anyone with so many food at a time. She happily got ready to take Eiji's order when he also ordered as much as Momo got. The same goes for Echizen. Seeing the already harassed looking woman, Sakuno decided to ease up on her order in case she collapses.

They were already eating when she arrived. She sat next to Ryoma while Momo and Eiji sat opposite to them.

"These burgers are really good! Let's go here at least once a week." Momo said while eating.

Eiji, who was looking at their food, noticed that Junko ordered a lot less.

"Minagawa, no appetite for burgers?" Eiji asked.

"I just want to eat a little, or else I'll miss dinner." Junko answered.

"Well, we won't settle for that. Do you want some fries? I have 5 here." Eiji asked.

"Thanks, I'm fine with this." Sakuno refused.

"Might as well share this." Eiji murmured as he took a tissue and unfolded it on the table. He put all the fries he bought and dumped it on the napkin. He soon have a mountain of fries in font of him. He took another napkin and put all the ketchup on it.

An ambulance's siren startled Eiji that he got ketchup on his uniform. Momo, Sakuno and Ryoma laughed. After cleaning himself with a tissue…

"Dig in!" he ordered. Momo smiled and added his fries to Eiji's and so does Ryoma. All of them smiled as there was a huge mountain of fries in front of them. They enjoyed their food so much that onlookers also followed suit. After some time, they stood up and left, their table a complete mess.

They were just outside the fast food when Eiji's cellphone rang. They were talking about coming back there when it rang. Eiji excused himself and answered it.

"Hai, Oishi! What?!? Alright, were going now….That shouldn't be far from here! Hai!" Eiji said. Momo, Ryoma and Sakuno were so curious on what they were talking about.

"Guys, we have to go to the hospital, quick! Coach is in there!" Eiji announced.

"What? Let's go!" Momo said.

Sakuno tried hard not to cry or else she'll blew it. She followed them, worried sick at what happened to her gradma.

After 20 minutes of running, they arrived at the hospital.

Eiji rushed to the information desk and almost throttled the nurse, good thing Momo and Ryoma restrained him. Sakuno did the talking.

"Where is Ryuzaki Sumire's room?" she asked, trying hard to be calm. Eiji had already stopped panicking.

"Oh, it's on the third floor. Room 205." The nurse looking at the computer.

"Thanks." Sakuno said as all of them immediately ran up the stairs. The elevator would take some time.

They reached the third floor and looked for room 205. They saw Oishi, Taka, Fuji, Inui, Kaidoh, Tezuka sitting outside the room. Momo immediately asked what happened.

"We were leaving when we saw her collapse 40 minutes ago. We got so worried since she won't wake up so we called for an ambulance." Oishi answered.

"Could we see her?" Sakuno asked.

"Not yet…the doctors are still in there." Fuji said.

The four of them sat down next to the others, all of them looking flustered. Sakuno took notice of all of these. Even though they sometimes call her names and other stuff, even though Sakuno could admit that she was sometimes really strict to them, the tennis club loves their coach very much. Her obaa-chan has no idea how her tennis club cares for her as much as she cares for them.

As they were wallowing in their own fear, two doctors and a nurse came out of their coach's ward. Everyone immediately stood up and started bombarding the medical staff with questions on the current condition of their coach. After about five minutes of making the visitors silent, one of the doctors spoke up.

"Don't worry! She's doing fine now. She collapsed due to so much stress and she needs to rest. Maybe no coaching for a week. You could come in if you want but be sure to be silent and not wake her up. Umm…anyway…is there a Ryuzaki Sakuno here? She was requested by the patient." The doctor informed.

"She's not here…we could not contact her earlier." Oishi answered.

"I'll go tell her. I know where her house is. I need to get home by now anyway." Junko volunteered.

"Alright, and tell her that her grandma's ok." Fuji added.

"I will!" Junko said as he ran out of the hospital.

Sakuno hurried home and changed her clothes. She dumped her duffel bag on her bed and fixed herself. She grabbed some money and dashed out of the house. Since she was wearing a skirt and tank top it made running a lot easier, she just found it to herself that she couldn't live without her old clothes.

She went to the grocery to buy some fruits for her grandma, then she went to the hospital. For once, she desperately tried to get her sense of directions right. She arrived at the hospital, all the the regulars were inside her grandma's room. She knocked on the door and opened it. There on a sofa sat Inui, Kaidoh, Tezuka, and Oishi while on the other sat Ryoma, Eiji, Momo, Taka and Fuji

"You're here…" her grandma said rather normally as if nothing's wrong. She already regained her strength but she still need to rest.

You're ok now, I presume?" Sakuno asked.

"Yeah, these kids really knows how to make me well."

"Here you go, obaa-chan! Some fresh fruits for you!"

"Thank you, you shouldn't have bothered, put it on the table."

While Sakuno puts the fruits on the table, Tezuka signed to everyone that they should get going. All the regulars stood up and prepared to leave."

"About what I said earlier, I really mean that." Ryoma said before leaving the room.

"I know…" Coach Ryuzaki smiled.

Soon they were gone and it was silent once again.

"What is it, obaa-chan?" Sakuno asked.

"You'll find out when it's done." The old Ryuzaki answered. "Sakuno?"

"Hai?"

"Are you still enjoying the tennis club?"

"Of course! It's the best decision I ever made in my whole life1"

"Good…" Sumire said while taking it to herself that she never had anything to regret after all. As long as her granddaughter is happy, she's contented.

"Good afternoon, Coach!" some third years greeted her. She made her way to where the regulars are practicing. The regulars were all having practice matches while Inui was busily jotting down on his notebook.

"Ne…Coach, aren't you supposed to come back tomorrow?" Eiji asked.

All games were stopped when they saw their coach.

"Who told you to stop practicing?!? Ten laps around the court!" Sumire ordered not even letting the regulars greet her.

All of them scampered and ran.

"Nya…she's back to our super strict coach…" Eiji pouted.

Unfortunately, the coach heard that.

"Kikumaru! 5 more laps around the courts!"

"Alright, I'll shut up.' He gave up as the regulars laughed at him for being the first to test the patience of their newly restored coach.

Sakuno was already at home, preparing dinner for her grandma and for herself. After practice that day, her grandma left some note on her locker that she would be going to the airport to pick up a package. Sakuno went home straightaway.

The doorbell rang and Sakuno opened the door to find her grandmother holding a somewhat large package with holes on the sides. They went inside and her grandma put it on the table in the living room.

"What is it, obaa-chan?" Sakuno said as she drew nearer.

"See for yourself," Sumire said to her, smiling.

Sakuno nodded and took off the ribbon on the top. There was a pink card attached to it.

_Dear Sakuno,_

_I hope you enjoy our present for you. Although we want to but we can't go back for this years Christmas for there is a lot of work here. We are really sorry. Take care of her._

_Love, Mom and Dad_

Seeing that it was from her parents, she opened the lid immediately as her grandmother watched her change her expression from excitement to pure delight.

Inside the box was a furry white cat with a pink ribbon around its neck. She picked it up as it purred sweetly at her.

"What's its name then?"

"That's for you to decide," Sumire went to kitchen and sat at the table. "I believe you're going to thank me properly now? I'm famished."

"Hai!"

After dinner and washing the dishes, Sakuno went to her room followed by her new cat. She sat at her bed which is near the window in her room. She lifted the cat in her arms as it purred gently.

"So, what should I call you?" she asked the cat.

"You're a girl how about…anou…Karin? Sakuno thought.

The cat purred and got out of her grasped and started licking on her cheeks.

"That tickles, Karin!" she laughed as she thanked her parents for the wonderful gift with all her heart though slightly sad about them not being for Christmas break this year.

* * *

**Hehe...Had a hard time thinking of a name...I can't wait for my report card...CHEMISTRY is not stable at the moment...**

**I watched the most recent episode of death note and I'm very disappointed at how intelligent and evil Light could **

**get...anyway I like Death Note but I love Prince of Tennis...Please don't kill me...**


	5. Chapter 5: Gifts and Warnings

**Able to update at last…I spent a whole day reading Ouran fanfictions yesterday…Anyway, here is chapter 5…**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Gifts and Warnings**

After winning against Rikkaidai, the regulars were back to their usual routines. Their popularity around the school got higher that they can't even walk normally on school hallways unless they want to be bombarded with females asking autographs, giving them chocolates and asking them out. This was taken care of teachers who would happen to pass by and save the regulars from certain death.

Ryoma was enjoying the tranquility of his new hiding place. He once got chased by girls then he found the Sakura tree at the back of the school. He climbed up and found out that it was a nice hiding place since no one cared to look up. He finds it amusing to see someone who looks for you but can't find you. The cool breeze blew upon him as he started to close his eyes and fall asleep.

Sakuno does not feel like hanging around her overactive best friend today. Even though Tomoka is her best friend, it's not like she should dedicate her time to her, and now she was giving time for herself and bask in the silence around her favorite cherry blossom tree. She silently walked, looking both ways in case somebody is there, and then she quickly made her way to the tree and sat on the ground, her back rested against the tree. She sat and hummed a song softly since no one passes by. She loves singing a lot at home and her grandma also suggested that she take voice lessons but she refused since she doesn't have time for that and her sole focus is on tennis.

After a while, Sakuno started singing.

_Heaven knows  
Love is just a chance we take  
We make plans  
But then love demands a leap of faith _

So hold me close  
And never let me go  
'cause even though we think we know  
Which way the river flows  
That's not the way love goes, no

Love moves in mysterious ways  
It's always so surprising  
When love appears over the horizon  
I'll love you for the rest of my days  
But still, it's a mystery  
How you ever came to me  
Which only proves  
Love moves in mysterious ways

Ryoma stirred in his sleep. Sakuno's voice floated in the air as Ryoma's eyes shot open. He looked down to find Sakuno singing under his tree. _Crap! Had she found me? Anyway, she sings pretty well…I never thought she could do that…_ Ryoma found himself listening to her contently, she just continued to sing so he assumed that she still hadn't seen him. He continued to be silent and listen to her finish the song. Ryoma doesn't like what it meant but the fact that Ryuzaki sings it made it entertaining.

_Like the ticking of the clock  
Two hearts beat as one  
But i'll never understand  
The ways it's done _

Love moves in mysterious ways  
It's always so surprising  
When love appears over the horizon  
I'll love you for the rest of my days  
But still, it's a mystery  
How you ever came to me  
Which only proves  
Love moves in mysterious ways  
Love moves in mysterious ways

Ryoma was already sitting on the branch above Sakuno, swinging his feet above the head of an oblivious Sakuno. She finished the song and everything became silent again. Ryoma folded his arms and leaned on the trunk, basking in the silence around him. Sakuno was still there, playing with the grass, Ryoma closed his eyes and almost drifted to sleep again when Sakuno began talking to herself. _This girl is so weird…_

"Ne…Ryoma-kun did well in the Kantou Regional Tournament…For the second time I did not get in the regulars even though it was a close call…Maybe I should give something to him…but what should it be? He's rarely happy with anything besides tennis…Hmmmn…" Sakuno pouted.

_What's wrong with this girl? How could she say she almost made the regulars when she could not even join the club…_ Ryoma thought then looked down to see Sakuno pouting, _Kami…So cute…Huh? Did I just thought that? Ryoma! Stop looking you're losing it! Arghhh!!!!!_ As Ryoma made war with himself Sakuno started looking around.

_Don't look up! Don't look up!_ Ryoma silently pleaded. He blushed then looked down, he withdrew then ruffled his hair resulting in its wild disarray. He mentally punched himself for acting weirdly.

Sakuno stopped turning, she could not find anything that could inspire her to think. She bowed her head and sighed.

"Mou…I can't think of anything…" Sakuno shooked her head and almost bumped her head to the three causing Ryoma to suddenly stir and worry about her. He was now watching intently for any untoward accident that might happen to Sakuno while she's thinking.

"What to do? What to do? What to do?" Sakuno blurted out. Ryoma let out a smile.

The bell rang, Sakuno immediately stood up and ran. Ryoma, watching her until she's out of sight, jumped down the tree and walked to the classroom.

"Che…I didn't know getting me a gift might be hazardous to her…" he thought, Sakuno almost hitting her head popping in his mind.

Sakuno immediately walked home after club activities, she was still wearing her tennis clothes, her tennis gear slumped on her back. She adjusted her cap so it covered her eyes. She was still thinking about possible gift items ranging from clothes, jewelry, food, chocolates and other various items that she doubted if Ryoma would like them.

She bowed her head and sighed. _There's no way I could do this! _She thought. Because she wasn't looking where she's going, she suddenly bumped into another student. Sakuno fell down and looked up. To her horror she saw angry senior Seigaku Students gaping down at her. One of them was holding an empty cup, the contents soaking his uniform. The other two were just staring at her. The student she bumped into reached into her collar and raised her.

"Look what you've done to me, you little brat!" the boy shouted.

"Gomen…I did not mean to do it!" Sakuno plead.

"Heh…might as well give us your money as compensation for your damage." The student holding her said.

"Nani?!?"

"You've got some problem with that little boy?" the second student asked.

"Yes, but---,"

"Are you trying to disobey me?" the one she bumped to spoke again. This time he grabbed Sakuno's wrist.

"Ittai!" Sakuno shouted, trying to break free from the grip, he was already hurting her.

The other two laughed as the grip on Sakuno's wrist tightened.

"This is compensation for trying to act against my will, little boy!"

"Make him shout again! He sounds like a girl!"

"Yeah, do it!"

The one gripping her looked at her back.

"You're a tennis club member are you?"

"Yeah, you blind or what?" Sakuno answered.

"You're brave now aren't you? Well, I'll make you regret saying that!" he got ready to punch his victim when a ball hit his face causing him to fall back and release Sakuno.

"Wha…Who's that?" he retorted.

"Mada Mada Dane…" a boy with a white hat and cat's like eyes answered. He was bouncing a ball on his left hand, the other holding a tennis racket.

Sakuno was now afraid. She was worried about Ryoma. They might hurt him.

"Stupid kid, I'll get you for this next time…Just wait! I'll make you regret this!" he shouted then ran away with his companions.

"Arigatou, Echizen!" Sakuno said.

"You're Junko, aren't you?" Ryoma asked.

"Hai!"

Ryoma turned around, lowered his cap and started walking again.

"Don't do anything stupid again." He said, walking away in the other direction. "Like they said, they're going to get back at us, so don't let your guard down next time."

Though slightly insulted, Sakuno thought that he is still right.

"H-hai, Ryoma-kun!" Sakuno answered.

Ryoma turned around and looked at him.

"What did you call me?" Ryoma asked, he just thought he heard Sakuno's voice call him…Being addressed as Ryoma-kun is unique only to that coach's granddaughter.

Sakuno quickly shut her mouth and ran away, leaving a puzzled Ryoma alone. _He just get weirder and mysterious everyday…_ Ryoma thought as he walked away and headed to his house.

The next day, Sakuno decided not to tell Tomoka what happened, in case she suddenly let it slip to others. She continued her whole day oblivious of those who were already plotting against them.

At practice, Junko practiced along with her Sempais due to the request of Inui that they need another player to help train the regulars. Sakuno had a match with Kaidoh while on the other court Ryoma was playing Momo. However in a race to win the first game, Sakuno lost as well as Ryoma when Momo broke the tie. They both get to drink that day's Inui special.

Though reluctantly, they both drank the foul smelling concoction. In less than five seconds, they both dashed to the sink and threw up.

"I think they really like it!" Fuji smiled as he and Inui watched their two kouhais run away. Inui let out a smirk.

They both washed and stood straight at the same time. They let out a sigh and trembled, the taste of the juice still lingering in their mouths. As they were washing their hands by the sink, two men holding rice sacks crept out and pounced at them. They enclosed both the freshmen into the sacks as both started to shout and wriggle away.

The two men were laughing as they walked away, carrying two freshmen in their shoulders.

"Where are you taking me?!?" Sakuno shouted. At her right she could hear Ryoma muttering curses.

After about two minutes they dropped the two of them, causing Sakuno and Ryoma to shout in pain.

"That's for yesterday's brawl, stupid kids. Stay there until you die!" one of their captors said. Junko and Ryoma were now out of the sacks. Ryoma stood up and tried to get up but the two pushed him back and ran out, closing the door shut.

"Hoi! Let me out of here! Hoi!" Ryoma shouted, banging on the door. Nobody answered him. They were now alone.

"We're trapped!" he said, stomping his foot on the ground. He looked at his companion. "I guess we should try to get out of here at least?" he said sarcastically.

Junko stood up and tried to search for something to give them light since the faint light from the afternoon sun could not reach them through the high windows. Sakuno just managed to stumble many times but she found nothing.

"Damn! There's no other way out unless we break this stupid door!" Ryoma was already angry. He was holding a metal rod and was hitting the poor door. It won't break. Ryoma kicked it and sat down, thinking of what else to do.

Sakuno watched him as what seems like something glistening fell down on his face.

_What? Ryoma's crying?_

**To be continued…**

* * *

**There its done…Sorry for not updating immediately…please review if it does not bother you that much…thanks for the past reviews!!! Anyway…I might be uploading again the next day so please read and review!!! Demo Arigatou Gozaimasu!!!**


	6. Chapter 6: Trapped

**Ne…This is the sixth chappie…Thanks for the reviews…I just started watching Bleach on youtube and I find it quite boring but its still good and I'll keep watching it so I could upload, say, every other day?**

**Chapter 6: Trapped**

"Echizen-kun…" Sakuno made her way to where Ryoma resides. She was getting worried about him now. Glistening drops were still falling from his face and still he kept his head down. He made no sound.

Sakuno felt sorry for him for being dragged into this. She finds it unbearable to see him in such a state. Even when crying, Ryoma is still cool, from Sakuno's point of view, he could not even whimper.

Ryoma felt someone sitting beside him so he lifted his gaze and looked at a frowning boy next to him. Sakuno saw his face that he was not crying, it was just sweat. She almost smacked herself for thinking that he'll do that quickly at times like this.

"What are you looking at?" Ryoma asked as he inched away from the boy. He was just thinking that he was alone with a boy, in the dark, cold and all.

Sakuno quickly withdrew and settled at a far corner of the room, a few meters away from Ryoma.

"Nothing."

Ryoma looked at the direction of the door. "You're really weird, you know?" he said, as if it was a matter of fact.

"I'm sorry for dragging you into this. It's all my fault." Junko apologized.

Ryoma just gave her a blank look. "Of course, it's your fault 'coz I'm pretty sure it wasn't mine."

Sakuno fought the urge to cry. She can't mess up things now. Somehow she just ended up in a staring contest with Ryoma for there is nothing else to do.

"I'm tired of this. I want to get out." Sakuno snapped after about two minutes of uncomfortable stares. She got up and slammed her fist on the door.

"HOI!!! LET US OUT OF HERE!!! HELPPPPP!!! ANYONE!!!!!!!!" She shouted at the top of her lungs. She paused for breath then started to shout again while making a ruckus at the door.

"OIIIII!!!!!!!LET US----mmfhmpfff…" Sakuno felt a hand over her mouth and the face of Ryoma on her shoulder.

"Stop shouting…You're going to make me deaf…" he whispered.

Sakuno took the hand away and looked at the nonchalant look on his face, anger filing up inside her.

"How else would we get out of here, mister?!?" she asked, a tone of anger and irritation in her voice.

"…" Ryoma looked away.

"I know this is all my fault but would you just please help us get out of this damned hell?!?"

"…"

"You know what? You're so great!!!"

"…"

"Do you want to stay here forever?"

"…"

"Why won't you answer me?!?"

"…" Ryoma finally looked at his ranting companion.

"Would you PLEASE say something?!?"

"This all your fault…" Ryoma finally murmured.

"I KNOW THAT ALREADY!!! I DON'T NEED TO BE REMINDED THAT!!!"

"You said I should say something."

"Why, oh , why do you have to interfere yesterday?!? Now you're thinking this is my fault when you could have just walked away!!!"

"Because you can't handle them yourself…you'll just get hurt."

"And how does my well-being concern you?!? We're not even considered acquainted!!!" Sakuno kept on ranting.

"…"

"What?"

"I just helped you because I'm not some cold-hearted jerk you just happen to know…Anyway, they're bound to notice me since it's the only way to my house." Ryoma answered indifferently.

"…"

'Since you've got nothing else to say, let me ask you a few questions…"

"…"

_Now how do I ask this politely like a good person…Are you gay?? No, too straight-to-the-point…umm…Why do you sound like a girl???umm…like a transsexual…how do they call that???...ummm…I'll end up being rude…_

"Are you sure you're a boy and not just someone I know?"

Sakuno was surprised at the question. Did it really became obvious…Kami!!! She shouldn't have shouted!! Before she answered, she tried to sound like a boy again.

"Nani?!?"

"Nothing…Just curious why you sound so similar and the way you act…just like a girl…"

_Oh god, oh god oh god!!!!_

"Ne…You're just imagining things…Maybe you should not play tennis so much…The sun does things to your brain…"

"No, it does not!"

"Anou…this is creepy, okay?"

"…"

"…"

"Whatever…" Ryoma noticed that the room already turned really dark. They both scrambled around to find a light switch. Junko found it and hurriedly switched it on. She just heard a sound of dropping boxes and a moan. "Echizen?"

"PONTA!!!" Ryoma shouted in delight as he grabbed a grape-flavor beverage from the box and opened it. "Ahhh…" he said, a smile etched on his face.

Junko sweatdropped. _He's so…anyway…Why is there Ponta here? Where are we exactly?_

Junko watched as Ryoma opened a second one and enjoyed himself…All plans of getting out erased from his overjoyed mind. _I never thought he could actually still enjoy his favorite drink in a situation like this…It was like being deprived of something he valued more than his life…He'll make the makers of Ponta rich…_

Ryoma was just grabbing a third one when he noticed Junko was only staring at him. He reached for another one and tossed it across the room. Junko caught it and looked at him.

"You must be thirsty from all that shouting…"

Sakuno thought about their lame excuse for a fight…she sighed. She just remembered her problem. But she must admit to herself that she's starting to like the entrapment.

"Anou…Where are we?" Ryoma asked.

"I don't know either…wasn't anyone going to look for us? I mean…I think we've been missing for the past hour or so."

"They'll find us…don't worry…"

"OK." Junko plopped down beside the door and drank the Ponta in her hands. There sure are plenty of them in this room.

"Hey! Have you seen Echizen and Junko around here?" Inui asked the lined up regulars outside the court, watching Tezuka and Oishi play.

"I've been wondering about that…and I'm sure they did not go home yet since their tennis bags are still there…" Momo pointed to the benches inside the court.

"Have anyone seen them for the past hour or so?" Inui asked.

"No..."

"Iie…"

"Fssssshhhuuuu…"

"I'll take that as a no…" Inui concluded.

"Nya…last time I've seen them they were down by the sink…" Eiji said.

"Yeah, I know that…But they should have been back here…Maybe something happened to them?" Fuji said, though this is not a time for smiling, he still kept his.

Inui adjusted his glasses. "There's a 99 percent chance that they are still together somewhere now. There's a 70 percent chance that they are still in this school and 50 percent chance that somebody kidnapped them. Let's start now."

"HAI!" everyone answered. Tezuka and Oishi forfeited their match and joined in the search. The freshmen trio also searched the grounds.

"ECHIZEN!" Momo called a silent Kaidoh trailing after him, looking around.

"FSSSHHHUUUUUU…"

Momo turned around and faced Kaidoh.

"Why do you have to go with me, mamushi?"

"What? I'm not going with you! And stop calling me names, Porcupine Head!"

"Well, don't call me Porcupine head either!"

"Fine, fishface!"

"Grr…Shut up, viper!"

"You started it!!!"

They fell silent once again. After about two minutes o just shouting ECHIZEN and JUNKO, Momo turned to face someone hissing at his back.

"Stop following me, mamushi!"

"How many times do I have to tell you that I'M NOT FOLLOWING YOU! Are you deaf now too?"

"Well, you're just doing that for the past few minutes!"

"I AM NOT FOLLOWING YOU!!!'

"Then why are you behind my back since we started this search?"

"…"

"What?!?"

"You just happened to walk in front of me, so just get out of the way!"

"…"

"…"

"Whatever…" Momo answered then got out of the way letting Kaidoh advance a few steps.

After 1 minute of walking…

"STOP FOLLOWING ME, PORCUPINE-HEAD!!!"

"What? I'm not following you!"

And so on and so forth….

"Oishi! I'm so worried about O'chibis!" Eiji though almost teary eyed, said to Oishi who had been searching with him.

"Don't worry, I'm sure they know how to take care of themselves" Oishi assured his double's partner.

"But what if they had been kidnapped and kept in a dark room? They might be crying now…"

"Don't say things like that, Eiji! No one could do that to them! And besides, I'm really sure Echizen won't even consider crying at times like this."

"But,"

"And if they really are trapped, they should be shouting for help right now…" Oishi said.

"You know what? I just got the feeling that we should start shouting now…" Junko muttured to Ryoma who had been drinking, like his fourth can of Ponta?

"Huh? You said something?"

_Right! He is still warped in his paradise…_

"I am so worried about those two…I should have watched over them…" Taka muttered, his face forming into a frown.

"It's not your fault, besides you can't keep track of them all the time…" Fuji tried to comfort Taka as he patted his back.

"Where could they be? What if they don't hear us?"

"I've got the solution for that!" Fuji whipped up Taka's racket and gave it to him.

"Fuji, I don't know if that could," taka paused as he gripped on the racket. He looked blank for a second then his eyes lit up and…"BURNINNGGGGG!!!!!!!!" and ran ahead of Fuji.

"ECHIZEN!!! MINAGAWA!!! WHERE ARE YOU? I'LL COME AND SAVE YOU!!!"

Fuji kept his creepy smile on his face and followed Taka's trail.

On the other side of Seigaku…

"Seventy-one percent chances that they are in danger, Thirty percent chances that they decided to play their own match…Sixty percent chances that they are still in Seigaku…There are an eighty percent chance that they had been abducted…and a one-hundred percent chance that they had been kept somewhere here…and forty percent chances that it was merely Echizen's fault…"

"…" Goes Tezuka as Inui kept discussing his probabilities and interjections that "data don't lie" and whatsoever.

"You're taking advantage of this too much…Let's get out of here now." Junko tried to stop Ryoma from drinking all the Ponta in the room. _I never knew you could get addicted to drinking this stuff so much…You should at least keep it down…_

"Alright…" Ryoma stood up and brushed the dirt off his clothes. He went to the door and tried turning on the locks. After so many rattles and turns he came to a conclusion, they had been locked from the outside and there was no way to get out unless someone breaks it from outside or they ruin the door.

He looked around for any piece of metal that he could use and saw a dusty baseball bat on the other side of the room. He took while Junko made his way to the small open window. Due to the high stacking of cartons and other boxes, he easily climbed up and reached the window.

Ryoma hit the door with the bat. It made such a loud sound but did not damage anything. He aimed for the lock and tried his best to strengthen his hits. After a few strokes, the lock gave away. Ryoma started kicking the door but it wouldn't budge. "Damn!" hissed Ryoma as sweat trickled on his face. It was becoming hot in the room.

Even though her palms are sweating, Sakuno tried to look over the window and call for anyone's attention. She looked as far as she could see but no one passes on the way. She frowned. _I'm so going to kill those bastards when I get out of here…_she addressed their kidnappers. _But how am I gonna do that when I get out of here? If I get out of here. Will I ever get out of this stupid place?!? Kami-Sama help!!! We're too young to die!!! Matte, Sakuno!!! Stop thinking worthless things like that! You are so going to get out of here and kick the hell out of those morons!_

Ryoma watched as Junko looked out from the window.

"Have you seen anything?"

"Iie…"

"That's too bad…I want to get out of here now…"

"And what do you want me to do about that?" Junko called, still watching out.

"Nothing…I'm not asking you anything…" Ryoma answered.

"Then find a way to get out of here…how about working on that door…"

"I already tried that…"

"Then try it again…"

"Nothing' going to happen anyway…"

"Then do nothing if you want…"

Ryoma thought for a minute then climbed up the stacks to where Junko is looking out.

"Hey…" Junko said as he felt Ryoma's presence near.

"Breaking the door won't work so I'll just watch with you."

"Alright…" Sakuno blushed at that statement. They were so close. She tilted her hat and smiled.

"What are you smiling about?"

Sakuno quickly stopped smiling and turned to face him. "Nothing…"

"Really?"

"Hai…"

"…"

"…"

They both looked out.

"Hey Guys!!! Have you found them?" Oishi shouted when he met Inui and Tezuka.

"No…not yet.." Inui answered.

"God…Where could those two be?"

"Hey guys!!!" a seemingly calm Taka walked over to them followed by Fuji who was holding a Taka's racket.

"We haven't found them…" Inui said.

"Us too…" Fuji was still in his smiling mood.

"Now I'm sure someone abducted them!" Inui announced.

"WHAT?!?" everyone shouted except Tezuka and Fuji. Momo and Kaidoh had just arrived to hear what Inui said.

"I just figured that out too…" Fuji said.

"I'm so going to kill anyone who had dared to do that to our kouhais!" Momo subjected.

"Fsshuuuuu…"

"No one is still within view…" Junko frowned.

"Let's just wait a little more…anyway we can't do anything except to wait."

"You're right…" and they looked out again, praying to themselves that someone would pass by.

Then, the door opened.


	7. Chapter 7: Ryoma suspects

**Sorry for the slow update…**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Ryoma's suspicious**

Junko was busy wishing for someone to open the door for them to get out and fighting his blushes whenever Ryoma murmurs something to him and also due to the closeness of the way they look out.

Ryoma was currently spaced out. Trying to recall the faces of those damned bastards who did this to them. He'll make sure they'll pay. Hell, he'll do the unthinkable to those damned bastards, once he gets out of this place.

Then to both their surprise, the door opened.

They both looked towards the door, getting ready to jumped away from the window and dash out the door, and thanking profusely whoever opened the door.

"Hoi! What are you kids doing here?" a man asked while holding the door.

Junko fidgeted so much that he lost his balance and fell and on instinct grabbed anything that came within reaching which happened to be Ryoma.

They both fell down the stack of cartons as the man beside the door rushed in to catch them both but to no avail. Ryoma ended up crashing on Junko who gave a little yelp while the man just looked at them apologetically a meter away.

"Ittai…" Junko murmured as he lay flat on the ground in his face. Ryoma instantly stood up and checked his surroundings. Nothing damaged except the one on the ground.

Junko sighed. He tried to sit up and massaged his back, murmuring how much it hurts. He felt something stinging in her left hand. Looking at it, he found out that he had cut himself when he fell. A trail of blood was mapping on his palm as he tried to cover it up with his shirt.

"Let's just get out of here…" Ryoma took Junko's right arm and helped him stand up. When he could stand up, he let go and walked out the door. Junko looked at him as he turned around and looked at him, he nodded. Junko smiled and started walking, bowing to the man sitting on the floor.

"Gomen…we did not mean to get in here…" he said.

"That's okay…" the man stood up and brushed the dirt off his clothes. "This is the storage room for the vending machine of the school. I was just going to refill it since it always ran out of Ponta." The man grabbed a box of juice and carried it out. Junko followed him.

_God…I'm finally out of that room…It's creepy…but it's nice…_Ryoma thought remembering his almost great time. _Ne…good thing he did not charge me of those Ponta cans…it would run me out of money…_he kept his evil secret to himself.

"You should go to the nurse…" he said to Junko who just came out. After thanking the man and explaining their situation, they went to the direction of the nurse's office.

"Ouch…it stings…" Junko murmured.

They rounded up the corner and bumped into a worn-out redhead.

"ECHIZEN!!! MINAGAWA!!! YOU'RE SAFE!!!" he shouted, grabbing the two into a bear hug.

"Eiji-sempai...I can't…breath…" Ryoma and Junko complained. Eiji released them as he started questioning them.

"Ne…O'chibis! Where have you been? We've been looking for almost an hour now…Oishi fainted because of too much worry." Eiji asked, pouting.

"Some seniors thought it was funny to lock us up…" Ryoma answered. _And in a nice room too!_ He thought.

"AHA!!! I knew it! You two were kidnapped!" Eiji shouted.

"Hai, sempai…" Junko assured.

"OIII!!!!! There you are!!!" a shout came behind them as they finally noticed the rest of the regulars, except Oishi, running towards them.

Momo instantly hugged the two of them and ruffled Echizen's hair and giving him a noogie.

"Ittai! Momo-sempai, stop it!!!" Ryoma said.

"Not after all the worrying you put me through!" Momo replied.

"Where have you two been?" Tezuka asked Junko since Momo was busy with Ryoma.

"Anou...etou…." Junko said before Eiji interrupted.

"THEY HAVE BEEN KIDNAPPED!!! THEY WERE LOCKED UP IN A ROOM BY THIS CREEPY MONSTERS!!! AHHHHH!!!" Eiji tried to explain, flinging his hands in all directions. Everyone sweat drooped. He's overreacting. Inui made up a mental note to confiscate those comics that Eiji reads in the clubroom. It was ruining his mentality.

"Minagawa, Echizen…Do you remember any of their faces? Names?" Fuji asked, his smile more sinister than ever.

"No…they did not say anything…but they're Senior students here, I'm sure of that…"

"Hai…there are three of them…They were the ones we had a knock with yesterday…actually, it is basically all my fault." Junko added. He tucked his hands in his pockets so that they could not see his injury.

Fuji spaced out after Junko's statement. He remembered what he saw a while ago.

_He was searching at the back of the high school building when he overheard someone laughing. He continued walking and on the way met three senior students who were laughing._

_Fuji continued to walk. Somehow, the three were talking a little too loud._

_"Those two must be shouting and crying now…" one said._

_"Ha…serves them right for giving me a black eye yesterday." The one on the middle replied._

_"But aren't we a bit too considerate to them? Man, I want to beat them up!"_

_"Yeah, me too…"_

_"There's a regular!" they stopped in their tracks. Fuji passed by them and continued to mind his own business, while the three sniggered like mad in the background._

"I'm going now…Take care" Fuji left them and ran in another direction.

"What's with him?" Taka asked.

"110 percent chance that he's up to something not too good." Inui answered.

"I wonder what he's going to do this time…" Momo wondered.

"Just expect it to be so creepy…" Eiji shook his head.

"Fssssssshhhhh…" Kaidoh hissed.

"Everyone let's go back to the courts and go home immediately. Echizen, go to the nurse's office with Minagawa. Have his wound cleaned." Tezuka ordered.

Junko put out his hands. There was no use hiding it, they already know.

"Let's go…" Ryoma said and started walking to the nurse's office.

"Hello…I was just leaving." The nurse greeted them and ushered them in.

"Ittai…" Junko murmured as the nurse cleaned his palm.

"It's alright…It's just a little cut…I'll just clean it up and put in a bandage okay?" the nurse assured.

Junko nodded.

"You know what? For a boy, you have the softest hands I've touched so far…It's so smooth…like a girl's." the nurse commented.

Junko glanced at Ryoma. He was relieved when he saw Ryoma was not listening seeing that he was turned the other way.

"There! It's done!" the nurse stood up taking the basin of water and the medical supplies away. Junko's palm was in a neat bandage.

Although Ryoma tried not to care, he heard what the nurse said and it was clawing at his curiosity towards Minagawa.

While Junko and Ryoma is still in the nurse's office, the regulars were discussing what happened to the two previously.

"Nya…where did they lock up our O'chibis?" Eiji asked.

"Ryoma said that they were locked in the storage room for the vending machines." Momo answered while putting on his uniform.

"But who might have locked them?" Oishi wondered, he had just been awakened by Momo and Eiji's shouts earlier.

"I say we go investigate the crime scene!" Eiji said to Momo.

Instantly, both Eiji and Momo wre dressed in detective's outfit, the long trench coat complete with a hat, pipe and magnifying glasses.

"Where is Fuji?" Taka asked them.

"Aha!!! I smell a crime…this is the job for….Matantei Eiji!" Eiji grunted, then Momo poked him. "and oh, my sidekick Momo!!!"

"HEY! Why am I only a sidekick?" Momo complained.

Eiji posed. "Just be thankful that you're not the dog."

"…" goes Momo.

"Alright, trusty sidekick!!! Let's go!!!" Eiji flew out the door, Momo following him, feeling dejected.

"Is this where it is?" Momo asked as they were in front of a not so large storage room.

"Yeah…This is the place alright!" Eiji said, aiming his magnifying glass on the door of the room. "Aha! This door's wooden! And old!"

Momo sweat dropped. It would obviously made of wood even if you look at it from afar.

"Hey Momo! I think I see a lock!" Eiji said.

Momo was close to losing his patience.

"Momo, do you really think it was Echizen we met earlier? Not just some alien disguising as him! Oh my god! What if it is really! Our poor O'chibis! NYA!" Eiji ran around frantically.

Momo clenched his fist. His sempai seems to not take this seriously. He was trembling with annoyance now and the sick puns the author makes.

Momo can't take it anymore. He took off his costume and crumpled it and decided to throw it to the ground and trample on it when he noticed a white handkerchief on the ground directly below him. He almost stepped on it. He picked it up and tripped Eiji to stop him from running.

"Ouch, Momo, that hurts...I'm just kidding when I said that!" Eiji said. He stood up and glared at the thing Momo was staring at.

"Hey! Doesn't that belong to—" Eiji commented, looking at the name engraved on it.

"Yeah! But why would it be here? It's not like a common place to go…" Momo wondered.

"Maybe it was just dropped by someone else or something…"

"Eiji-sempai, this room is prohibited to students…We shouldn't even be here!"

"Hai…Hai…but how did it get here? If this is where our O'chibis were locked why would she be here…" they both wandered.

The cold wind rustled sending shivers down their spines.

"Let's get out of here! It's getting dark!" they both ran back to the tennis courts. Momo kept the handkerchief in his tennis bag. They saw Fuji walking out from the locker room.

"Fuji, you're still here!"

"I've got something to tend to earlier. Why are you two still here?"

"Oh, nothing! Come on! Let's go home already! I'm starving."

Junko did not manage to change his clothes. He went home straight and was greeted by his obaa-chan, who was standing in the doorway.

"I heard about the commotion today…are you alright now?"

Junko took off his cap and smiled at his grandma. Her hair fell down as she ran her fingers through it.

"Hai, obaa-chan! I really felt nervous though…"

"What happened to your left hand?"

"This is just a small cut…It'll get better soon…At least it wasn't my right hand." She sighed.

She change her clothes and slumped on the bed. It was a very tiring day. She smiled as she hugged the covers and dwelt in the security of her room.

"Sakuno! Dinner's ready!" her grandma walked to the kitchen.

"Coming!" she walked slowly, Karin purring as she followed her master.

"This is so your fault."

"No it's not."

"I told you not to piss him off."

"No, you didn't."

"That creepy regular really scares me."

"I'll never mess with them again."

"Yeah…forever and ever.'

"Now how do we get down from here?"

"Don't ask me were just the same!"

"I hate being humiliated like this…"

The voices came from three men hanging up a tree, ropes around their bodies making them look like cocoons, but their heads were left out where someone drew some really weird figures using a black permanent marker.

"HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The next day...

"Hey, Sakuno! What happened to your hand?" Tomoka practically shouted to her bestfriend.

"I accidentally cut myself with a kitchen knife..."

"How could you be so clumsy, anyway, is it fine already?"

"Hai!"

Then out of nowhere...Horio, Katsuo and Kachiro pops...

"Hoi, Ryuzaki! Have you finished the...whoa...what happened to you?" Horio exclaimed.

Ryoma who was sitting behind Sakuno awakened due to the noises nearby. He noticed Sakuno's bandaged hand and wondered a bit how she got it. He was about to ask when Tomoka answered Horio's question.

"She just got clumsy with a knife..."

"Tomo-chan..." Sakuno whispered.

"That's a daangerous thing, Ryuzaki..." Katsuo said.

"I think you should change those bandages now...It kinda looks loose..." Kachiro poited out.

"Ok! Let's go to the clinic..." Tomoka announced.

"But's its just fine..."

"We can't let your beautiful hand get infected! Let's go!" Tomoka grabbed her by her wrist and escorted her out the room.

Ryoma watched Sakuno disappear from his seat. _Baka! That girl almost got me worried...Heck, if she's stupid why do I have to worry about her? I don't even care..._though Ryoma find it hard to believe that he doesn't care either.

"There...it's all done..." the nurse smiled.

"Arigatou..." they said and left.

Sakuno was staring out the window, Tomoka was drawing random things in a paper.

"Hey, Sakuno! Could I have your hand?" Tomoka asked. Sakuno stretched the bandaged one to Tomoka without taking her gaze off the window.

"What are you going to do?" Sakuno asked as she saw a dog walk from outside the gates.

"Oh, nothing..." tomoka let go of the hand and Sakuno just plopped it on the desk.

Ryoma saw how Tomoka had drawn a little star near Sakuno's thumb and thought that it was a little crooked in the sides. He did not mind it because the bell rang and the Science teacher would arrive soon.

Junko was practicing swinging his racket like all the freshmen non-regular were told to do. He was lined up with Horio and his friends while the other years were having matches.

"Hey, Minagawa! How's your hand?"

Junko turned to see Oishi, Ryoma, Fuji, Eiji and Momo walking towards him. Ryoma was pretty much just dragged into the scene by Eiji and Momo who had him in an armlock.

"It's fine, Sempai!"

"Could we see it?" Fuji asked.

"Anou...Sure..." he showed his left hand.

"I think it's okay..." Eiji said.

"Yeah..." Oishi nodded.

Ryoma noticed a small star drawn near the thumb area. It felt like a familiar sign to him.

"HOI! Stop huddling there! 20 laps around the court!" Tezuka called the regulars. They groaned and started running around the court.

"Nya...This is the second time we ran 20 laps today..." Eiji complained.

"That's because you and Momo won't stop bickering Echizen earlier." Oishi said.

"But still..." Momo pouted.

Ryoma was in deep thought. He swore he saw that same blue mark on Junko's hand elsewhere, he just gotta remember.

"Hey O'chibi! Watch out!" Eiji shouted.

Ryoma had not heard him and tripped. The ones following had not expected him to trip so they all fell down on Ryoma one by one.

"Ittai..." Ryoma whispered while everyone on top of him groaned.

"Sempai...get off...get off! you're so heavy!" he shouted.

Eiji, Momo and Oishi got off him before Ryoma managed to sit down. Fuji was watching them, smiling. He did not fall down sice he was left behind a few meters so he managed to avoid colliding with them.

"What's were you thinking, O'chibi?" Eiji asked.

"Nothing..."

"Oh...you could tell your dear sempais why you are thinking of Sakuno-chan!" Momo teased.

"I'm NOT thinking of her and I would rather tell it to a cockatoo than tell it to you..." Ryoma answered.

"WHAT?!? YOU LITTLE BRAT!!! HOW DARE YOU SPEAK LIKE THAT TO YOUR SEMPAIS? and what's a cockatoo?" he turned to Fuji.

_Maybe I could have some fun with_ _this..._"It is a name you call your special someones...it's like 'honey' or 'darling'...but calling them cockatoo is the sweetest thing you could say to them..." Fuji sniggered.

"Oh..." Momo said then resumed running.

"Maybe you shouldn't have told him that..."Oishi said.

"He'll be fine..."

Eiji was rolling on the ground, clutching his stomach. "HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! and...he...believed...it!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!"

"Eiji, stop it, it's not that funny..." Oishi helped Eiji stand up.

Ryoma was pondering over what he was thinking before he tripped. Then a thought popped in his mind..._why had I not thought of it sooner? Baka...there's only one way to prove this and I'm going to use the only way I know..._

**

* * *

What did Ryoma think of?**

I was having a sort of Teni-puri type chapter cramming in my mind...maybe that would be the next chapter or not...

For those I cannot understand:

**I'm really sorry for using the name Junko…I did not know it was a girl's name! The first time I saw it I never thought it was a woman because I instantly praised him for the beautiful songs from Ryoma…I'm so sorry…Please stop rubbing it in…I know now…thanks…I got so depressed with that mistake that it took me a longer time to update…I'm so sorry…But, this is just fiction so I guess you have to stick with it… Sorry…gomen**


	8. Chapter 8: What Eiji misses the most

**Hahahahah!!! This is the beginning of me making the whole regulars of Seigaku fall in love!!! Since my twin, Kaoru-chan (ne…I miss you so much na!!! sniffles ) loves Eiji so much…we dedicate this chapter to him…**

**Eiji: Hoi! Hoi! What are you going to do?**

**Hikaru and Kaoru-chan: heheheheh**

* * *

**Chapter 8: What Eiji's been waiting for…**

"Happy Birthday, Eiji!" Fuji greeted when he met Eiji while walking to school. Soon they met with Tezuka, Inui and Taka who also wished him a happy birthday. The date is November 28, the acrobatic tennis player's special day.

"Thanks, guys!" Eiji said as they were walking in front of the school gates. "Let's go to Kawamura's Sushi restaurant on the way home! My treat, of course!"

"Iie…we are the ones who are going to treat you! It's a gift from all of us!" Oishi said.

"What? Why?"

"We all gave in money to treat us all in an eat-all-you-can at Kawamura's!" Fuji answered.

"Really, guys? Arigatou!" Eiji smiled.

----------------------------

They were almost entering the school gates when a girl stopped them. She has shoulder-length brown hair, much like Fuji's but a little longer, her brown eyes scanning the regulars.

"Anou…could you tell me where this is?" she asked, showing a classroom number to Eiji, who happened to be in the front.

"Nya…isn't this our class number?" he showed it to Fuji.

"Yes, it is…she must be the new student our sensei talked about yesterday." he answered, smiling at the girl.

"Yes…I am quite new here and I don't know where to go…" she said.

"Then let us escort you to your new classroom!" Eiji volunteered.

"Thanks!" she bowed to them and was ushered by Eiji. The bell just rang and they were walking a bit fast now, almost running.

------------------------------------

Eiji heard a slight ring of a bell while they were running. He followed the sound and it came from a pink cat keychain the girl had clung on the zipper of her bag. He took glances from it every now and then because he was getting curious, and somehow, it felt familiar to him.

"Oh, no! There's our teacher! Run!" they saw their teacher about to open their classroom there.

They won't make it. The girl was running behind them and a look of amusement plastered on her face. Since Tezuka and Inui's room is closer, they didn't get late.

"Hoi! Chotto matte kudasai!!!" Eiji shouted and finally beaten the teacher in entering the door. Fuji, Taka and Oishi followed him in and took they're seats, laughing from all the excitement they were in.

She bowed to the teacher and introduced herself while they were outside.

"Ah! You're the new student!" the teacher exclaimed. "Here! I'll introduce you to the class…" he opened the door that Oishi had habitually closed when he entered.

"Ohayou, class! The teacher greeted, walking his way to the teacher's table in front, the new girl following him.

Everyone in the class stared. "Ohayou, sensei!"

"As everyone should have expected, we have our new student here. Please introduce yourself…" he turned to the girl.

"On, hai! Ohayou! I'm Shinohara Riko! I'm just a bit new here and just came back in Japan after 6 years…I went here alone and please guide me here! I still have to get used to the Japanese culture again since I went to America when I was eight and haven't come back since…" she made a bow and looked at teacher signifying that she was done.

_She went to America when she was eight?_ Eiji thought.

"Oh and speaking of the guide you just mentioned…anyone want to volunteer?" the teacher asked. Every hand shot up. Some even raised both hands and good thing nobody raised their foot as well.

"You're all enthusiastic today? Why can't you do the same during recitation?" the teacher joked.

"Lame…" a boy in front said.

"Nani?" the teacher fumed.

"Ah, sensei? Could I be the one to pick?" Riko asked.

"Be my guest!"

She looked around the class. "Hmm…that guy!" she pointed towards a surprised red head.

"Me?" Eiji pointed to himself to assure if he was the one really picked.

"Yes." She smiled. All the boys groaned except Fuji, Oishi and Taka.

Eiji almost leaped in joy, but he fought it since he would just embarrass himself in class.

"Good job, Eiji!" Fuji, who was sitting next to him said. Eiji was sitting beside the window in the back most part of the room. Fuji sat to his right, Oishi sat in front of Fuji and Taka sitting in Fuji's right.

"You could take your seat there!" the teacher pointed to a vacant chair in front of Eiji.

"Arigatou!" she walked to the seat, every boy she passed following her with stares.

"Hi! Thanks for helping me earlier! I'm Rika!" she greeted Eiji. She looked at his smiling face and noticed a slight familiarity as he answered her.

"Oh, hey! Betzuni! I'm Kikumaru Eiji but just call me Eiji! Nice to meet you too!" he said. He waited for her to say something since she was still standing and staring at him.

"Are you okay?" he asked waving his hand in front of her face. She seem to get out of her spaced-out condition.

"Ah…oh, sorry…Thanks anyway." She took her seat and the whole class resumed lessons.

_Funny…_Eiji thought.

-------------------------------------

"So where are we going?" Riko asked Eiji. It was lunchtime so Eiji showed her around the school.

"Anou…we have been everywhere…hmmm…" he looked around and spotted Ryoma walking alone, his hands at the back of his head.

"Hoi! Echizen!" he called but Ryoma did not look at him.

"You better go here or I'll tell Sakuno-chan that you like," he was interrupted when Ryoma suddenly spoke.

"I like what?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing…just come here…" Eiji said and Ryoma finally obeyed him.

"What do you want?" he asked, his cap tilted down so his eyes were hidden.

"I want to introduce her to you." Eiji pointed to the girl beside him.

"And what good would that do?" Ryoma asked sarcastically.

Somehow, Eiji did not hear him. He was busy talking to the girl again.

"He looks cute." She said.

"Nya…that's because he is our O'chibi!"

"Ohh…ne…do you have tennis courts here?" the girl asked.

"Yes, we have! How could I forget to show it to you. Shame on me!" Eiji said and turned around to head to the tennis courts.

"Matte, Eiji-kun!" Riko called.

"Why?"

"Goodbye, O'chibi! You really are so cute!" she said, pinching both of Ryoma's cheeks. Then all of a sudden, she sneezed.

"Manners please…" Ryoma tilted down his hat and backed away from her.

"Sumimasen…I can't help it when my allergy attacks…are you mingling with cats?"

"I have one…"

"Oh…sorry about that…it won't happen again…if I can help it…Goodbye!"

She turned around and walked to the waiting red head._ She's got an allergy on cats too? Now this is getting interesting._

"By the way, I'm Riko Shinohara! Just call me Riko-chan, Echizen Ryoma!" she called then waved at him, and made her way to the tennis courts.

Ryoma stood there, brushing his red cheeks because she pinched him a little hard.

"Mada mada dane, Eiji-sempai…"

--------------------------------

"So you know him already?" Eiji asked when they arrived at the courts. Nobody was in there except for the two of them, since no one practices at the heat of the noon sun.

They sat under the shed overlooking the courts. They opened their drinks that they got from a vending machine nearby.

"Yes, I should definitely know him!"

"Why is that?"

"Because he's the only kid who beat me in tennis back when I was in America."

"Oh…"

"But that was because we both joined a kid's tennis tournament once and that was when I met him. They were always crowded by media when they win since I heard his father is quite a great player too."

"That O'chibi!"

Silence lasted for a few seconds.

"Have I met you before?" they both asked each other.

"I think so…" they both answered then laughed.

"Could I ask you something?" Eiji said.

"Shoot?"

"Why did you come back now?"

"I promised a friend of mine to cheer for him when he enters the nationals. Since this is the last year in middle school, I assume he is going to the nationals this year so I came back. For him…" she said, staring at the courts, smiling.

"Don't you have any contact with him?"

"No…I don't have…that's why I'm taking chances in finding him here. I heard Seigaku is entering the nationals this year."

"Yes, we are!"

"What do you mean we are? Are you in the tennis team?"

"Yes, I play doubles."

"So does him."

Silence again.

"Could I ask you a question too?" she said.

"Sure."

"Why did you ask me if I have met you before?"

"You look so familiar to me…and cat chain on your bag rings a bell to me but I can't remember.

"Oh! That was given by the one I'm talking about!"

"Really? Then it must have been special to you…Mind if I want to know his name?"

"Sorry…but I don't know it…I don't even know what came to me to not to ask his name."

"What are you going to do now?"

"I think I'll just go watch the nationals to see if he is there."

"That's great! Do you want to be one of our cheerleaders? We only have two girls on the 'squad' Sakuno-chan and Tomo-chan could use some help."

"Sure…"

"Hah! We're going to have a blasting time!"

"I'm going to expect that. Anyway, say sorry again to Ryoma for me…I really did not mean to sneeze on him."

"Are you allergic to O'chibis?"

"No, silly! I'm allergic to cat's fur! He's got fur left on his shoulders, maybe he played with a cat before he go to school."

"So like her."

"Who?"

"One of my friends from long time ago."

"What's her name?"

"We're on the same standing; I forgot to ask her name."

"Oh…"

Then the bell rang signifying all students to go back to their classrooms.

-----------------------------------

"Oh…it's time already." Sakuno stood up and ran with Tomoka to class since they were both in the cafeteria.

"Have you seen Ryoma-same anywhere?"

"Iie…we left class before him…"

"Oh…"

When they arrived in the classroom, he was already there.

------------------------------------

Eiji was trying his best to keep up with the discussion in English, but his eyes seem to stick to the back of someone sitting in front of him. He resisted and his gaze landed on the cat keychain again. His eyes widened at his realization.

_Hah! I knew it!_ He shouted in his mind over and over. He even bit his lip to avoid shouting it out, but he was really going to explode with joy know.

-------------------------------------

After class has ended for the day, Eiji, Taka, Fuji and Oishi walked out of the building to go to tennis practice. They went in the locker room to change, and Eiji could no longer hold back.

"HAH! I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT!" he exploded, complete with some back flips and summersaults.

"Calm down, Eiji! What do you know?" Oishi asked, trying calm down Eiji or he might bump himself in the cramped room.

"It's her! It's her, alright!"

"Who's 'her'?" Taka asked.

"I think he's talking about that new girl in class, Riko…" Fuji answered for him.

"Oh…so what about her?" Oishi asked Eiji after tripping him so he will relax.

Eiji was now rolling on the floor in enjoyment.

"She came back for me like she said so six years ago!" he blurted out.

"Could you make it a little more interesting?" Fuji asked.

"Hai! Hai!"

-------------------------------------

_"Hey! Throw the ball here!" some children called as they played games. They were at the park playing with fellow children._

_But little Eiji doesn't want to play dodge ball; he just made his way to a Sakura tree and climbed it. Up the three he could clearly see the tennis courts where some adults were playing doubles._

_"Nya…I want to be like those guys!" he grimaced as he watched the winning team score 6-0. _

_Then out of nowhere, a tennis ball flew to him and hit him hard in the face. He fell down the tree and face down on the grass. He tried to sit down and was surprised at the large bruise on his left knee._

_"Hey! I'm sorry! Are you okay?" a worried voice called to him as its owner came running to him._

_"Is that yours?" he pointed to the ball in annoyance._

_"Yes, that's mine…I'm sorry I did not mean too…" she smiled at him and the bruise on his knee seem to numb._

_"Oh, you're wounded! Let's go to the nurse's station!" she took his left arm and propped it on her shoulder. Eiji stood but was limping._

_"Could you manage to walk?" she asked._

_"Yes…"_

_"So then…let's go!"_

_-----------------------------------_

_After what seemed like an eternity of walking, limping and stumbling, they managed to get to the nurse's station in one piece, though they were dirty all over and looked harassed._

_"Oh, children…have you been rolling in the dirt?" the nurse said when she saw the two._

_"He's got some bruise on his knee…" the little girl said._

_The nurse looked at Eiji. She could not see the bruise since he was covered in scrapes and dirt._

_"Oh…I see…" the nurse said, though she could not tell where it is._

_She treated Eiji's wounds and also Riko's scrapes and bruises._

_----------------------------_

_"Ne…I'm so sorry…" Riko said as she and Eiji were walking home. "Is there anything I can do to make up with it…?"_

_"But I already told you that taking me to the nurse was enough, I should be the one sorry since you got scrapes and wounds too."_

_"Demo…"_

_"Alright…now what would it be…hmmm…" he saw a poster a lamp post. _

_It read:_

_FIREWORKS FESTIVAL_

_6pm-12am at the Shino Temple_

_Fireworks display at 8pm_

_Don't miss!_

_There were fireworks in the background and it sounds really good to the child's mind._

_"There! Go with me there!" he pointed excitedly to the poster._

_"I think I can't…" she whispered._

_"Why?"_

_"Oh…nothing! Where will we meet?"_

_"In front of the stairs in Shino temple…Wait me…nya?" _

_"Sure! Ja ne!" then she ran in the opposite direction._

_"Hai!" he said then stopped. "Hoi! What's your name?" but she was nowhere in sight._

_Riko ran fast then stopped. 'Oh, my! I forgot to ask his name!' she ran back to where she left Eiji but he was gone already. "Whatever! I'll just ask him when we meet tomorrow."_

_------------------------------------------_

_Eiji was waiting for almost an hour already. He looked at his watch. There is only 10 minutes before the fireworks and she's not here yet._

_"Hoi!" the familiar voice called to him then the owner showed up from the crowd._

_Eiji smiled and ran to meet her. But suddenly, he slipped and fell on the ground._

_"Oi! What happened?" she asked._

_"I slipped on that!" he pointed to a banana peel on the ground._

_"Did you hurt something?" she looked really worried now. She tried to look at Eiji's face._

_Eiji blushed really hard. Her face was almost just a mere inch away from his; he could almost hear her breathing._

_"Iie…nothing wrong…here! Let met help you up." She offered her hands to him. He blushed but held on to her hands and stood up._

_"Arigatou…" he said, looking away._

_"Ah…Gomen! I was late…" she looked at her watch. "We only have 3 minutes left, every seat on the hill must have been taken!" she seemed to stop and then, "Hah! I know of a place! And it is far better than that hill!" she grabbed Eiji's hand and dragged him to where she thinks is the best place._

_-----------------------------------_

_Eiji was a little worried and a little too red in the face. Good thing it was dark in the forest so she could not see me…what? In the forest! We're in the forest?!? Just where is this girl taking me?_

_"Ah…here we are!" she said, and then Eiji looked ahead. They were near the edge of a grassy cliff and it was overlooking the houses below and the river where they will be launching the fireworks! The night air was really cool. No one was there except for them. They sat on the grass. _

_"3…2…1…Blast off!" she counted then the cliff was illuminated by the light from the first fireworks._

_"Sugoi!" they both mused as the cliff was illuminated with different colors like red, green, blue, violet and many others. The fireworks look so big since they were near and really fantastic._

_Eiji took a glance at the girl next to him and the whole world seemed to stop for him. 'She's so beautiful' he thought while staring at her face. She wore a really happy expression on her face; her mouth was even gaped open from all the excitement she gets. The fireworks reflecting in her eyes make them so warm to look at. Well, that was what Eiji thinks, now._

_Riko was asking Eiji some questions but he did not answer her. The ad also said the fireworks would last for 30 minutes so she removed her gaze from it and looked at the boy next to her. He was just staring at her. She got a lttle worried since he won't budge even if she wave her hands in front of his face._

_"Hello? Hey, are you okay? What are you looking at? Hoi!" she tried to look around in case he is staring at something else but he really have his stare fixed at her._

_"Maa…maa…this is getting creepy…Hey! Snap out of it!" She snapped her fingers and it worked._

_"Ah…oh…yeah…what?" he looked dazed._

_"What are you doing?"_

_"Nothing…"_

_Then a cat walked to them from the bushes, then walked to Eiji's side. Then all of a sudden, she sneezed._

_"Hey, are you cold or what?"_

_"It's nothing really…" then she sneezed again._

_"I think we should get you something warm…" Eiji stood up but Riko pulled him down._

_"Iie…I'm not cold and we're not going anywhere until the fireworks display is finished." She said._

_"Then why are you sneezing? I swear I took a shower before going here!"_

_"Iie...it's not that you are smelly even though you're still smelly even if you had a shower…"_

_"Then what is it?"_

_"It's just that…I'm allergic to cat fur…"_

_The cat seemed offended and ran away to hide in the bushes, but the two doesn't seem to notice._

_"Oh…that's too bad…I like cats…"_

_"Yeah, me too…they're so cute but I can't be near them or I won't just sneeze, I would have rashes too…and they're so itchy…"_

_Then they watched the fireworks again. Eiji looked at her assuring that everything will be alright. He clasped her hand with his and held it. She blushed._

_"It's finished already…" she murmured and stood up. He let go of her hand and sighed. _

_"C'mon let's go!"_

_"Doko?"_

_"At the festival, of course!" they had race to the temple and Eiji won._

_"Hah! You have to give me a treat!"_

_"Oh, man…" she groaned then went to a cotton candy vendor and bought two._

_"Here!" she handed him the cotton candy._

_"Sweet…" he murmured, eating the fluffy candy away._

_"Let's go see other stuff!" she said then they went walking. They saw cute little things but none matched up to a certain thing._

_"Kawaii! Neko-chan!" Riko exclaimed, admiring a pink cat keychain._

_"That's 200 yen, young lady…" the vendor said._

_Riko pouted…"Oh…I'm short of money…maybe next time…" she moved to the next stall and looked at the fish swimming in a tub._

_"Could I have that?" Eiji asked the vendor._

_"Sure! Is it for that little lady over there?"_

_"HAI!"_

_"Actually, there are two of those…do you want the other one? I'll give the two for 200 yen sice you kids are good." Eiji bought the key chain._

_"Arigatou gozaimashita!" he bowed then made his way to the oblivious girl._

_"What did you do?"_

_"Ah…let's go home now…it's late…"_

_"But I don't wanna go home!"_

_"Why?"_

_"Because no one waits for me in there!"_

_"Huh?"_

_"My cousin's not in here…he was out for vacation…only the nanny waits for me at home since my mom died in a car crash. My father is always busy and away on his trips and doesn't even pay any attention to me since Mom was gone…" she blurted out._

_"But don't you care that you're nanny would be waiting for you?"_

_"Iie…I don't care about her…"_

_"But since she's your nanny she cares for you…you should at least go home and not let her worry…"_

_"Yeah, right! And then she'll take me away from here."_

_They were already walking home at that time. Eiji was still clutching his purchase at his back where she could not see it._

_"Where is she taking you?" Eiji suddenly felt a slight scare climbing his spine._

_"To where Daddy is…"_

_"Where's that?"_

_"America…"_

_"But that's too far away! "_

_"Yeah I know, I don't want to leave but at the same time I already want to see my Daddy."_

_"I understand…so when are you leaving?"_

_"Tomorrow morning…at 8am…" _

_"I promise I'll be there!"_

_"Really?"_

_"Sure! That's what friends are for!"_

_"Princess!" a voice called._

_Riko turned around to see her nanny accompanied by two maids running down the road to them._

_"Princess!" the other two maids shouted. They stopped in front of the two, panting._

_"Princess! Where have you been? We've been worried about you!" _

_"I went to the fireworks festival with him!" she showed Eiji to them._

_"But, princess, you have to go home now…you're flight became earlier than expected!"_

_"Nani?"_

_"Let's go now!" they took her hand and walked with her. She was struggling really hard. _

_"Matte!" they let goes of her and she ran to Eiji._

_"I'm sorry…"_

_"No you don't have to be sorry about anything…" Eiji smiled. "Here…" he took out his hand and showed her the pink cat keychain she wanted._

_"You're giving it to me?" her eyes sparkled with joy as she picked it and held it up. The little bell on its small collar rang softly._

_"Yes…"_

_"Oh, thank you thank you thank you!!!" she exclaimed then hugged him, tight._

_"Betzuni…" Eiji blushed._

_"Princess!!! We need to go!!!" her maids shouted from behind._

_"I promise to be back to see you win the national tournament!" she smiled at him and ran to her maids._

_Eiji waved back to her._

_She ran back to him and gave him a peck on the cheeks. They both blushed hard. Eiji touched his cheeks while Riko looked away._

_"I'll do my best!" Eiji assured her._

_She went back to her maids._

_"Ganbatte!"_

_"I WILL!"_

_"Ja ne!" she turned back and disappeared in the corner._

_--------------------------------_

"So that's what happened!" Taka smiled sheepishly at Eiji.

"Yeah…I wish I had told her how beautiful she is before than have it wait for the last six years." Eiji pouted.

"Ii data." Inui was scribbling like mad in his notebook again. This is one data he'll never want to miss.

"Well, you're chance is here! Don't waste it!" Fuji said.

"What were you guys talking about? Who's the girl? Is she here?" Momo asked.

"It's none of your business so don't butt in, porcupine head." Kaidoh said to him.

"What did you say, viper?"

"So you are deaf again, huh?"

"What? You! I'll make you take that back!"

"Oh, yeah? Make me!"

And insults flied back and forth.

"Hey! What are you all still doing there? 40 laps around the court!" Tezuka was propped in the doorway and was looking intently at them. "And don't let her ruin your concentration! Our main goal now is to win the nationals!"

_Ah…he's been listening too…_everyone in the room thought.

------------------------------

Ryoma was looking intently at Junko. They were running laps together because they were ordered by Tezuka for a particular reason they don't know.

_Now how do I ask Sakuno to play a match with me when I'm too sleepy in class to talk to her…and I still haven't beaten this guy over at tennis…Damn…_

-------------------------------

After class that day, Riko was assigned to clean after class. Her cleaning group mates have already left because there is little job to be done and she only had to clean the blackboard.

"Bye, Riko!" the last of her classmates said as they disappeared from the doorway. She was now alone in the eerie silence of the room.

---------------------------------

"Uh oh…" Eiji whispered when they were about to go home.

"What is it, Eiji?" Oishi asked him, a worried expression on his face.

"Nothing serious actually…I just forgot my history book on my desk…I'll get it…and don't wait for me…you could go home if you like!" he smiled as he ran towards the school building.

"Are we going to wait for him?" Fuji asked.

"Yeah, it won't take him that long…" Oishi said.

---------------------------------

Eiji ran all the way to his class. He did not meet any soul as he ran. _The school is already deserted at this hour? Nya…_

He ran up the stairs and found the door of his classroom still open. _At least somebody is in here…I almost felt reluctant to come back here at time like this…I wish I had brought the others with me…this place gives me the creeps._

He peeked beside the door in the back to see who is in the room. To his surprise, it was Riko.

_Ok…do it silently so she won't notice me and that we are alone in this room…in this building…_he never felt more nervous in his life that he accidentally bumped into one of the chairs. It made a sound so audible he almost caused Riko to jump a feet in the air.

"Wah! Who's there?" she pointed the eraser to anyone she might see like it was a knife or something.

"Gomen…ahahahaha…" Eiji was sweating buckets now. _I'm dead I'm dead!_

"Oh, its just you…I thought it was somebody else…you scared me…next time don't do that again or you'll give me a heart attack!" she said then resumed in what she was doing earlier, erasing the board.

"Did you forget something?" she asked, placing the eraser back in its proper place.

"Hai…my history book…" he said showing it to her.

"I'm leaving now, bye!" she was exiting the room when Eiji called her back. "What is it?"

_Oh c'mon Eiji you can do it! You're going to be like Echizen if you keep this all to yourself! Just tell it to her now that you're alone or you might not get any other chances maybe for the next 10 years or more now! Just say what you have waited for so long to say!_ Eiji was sweating really hard, the room felt like hell.

"Well, are you going to say something?" she made his way to him. And the closer and closer she get, the more courage Eiji loses.

"Anou…you're so beauty…I mean, do you want me to walk you home?" he said.

Riko was a little taken aback but she agreed, nonetheless.

_Damn Eiji!_ He scolded himself…this was one of the rare times his confidence sabotages him…

"Hey! Here he comes!" Oishi said.

"And he's not alone…"

"Isn't that Riko-san?" Taka said.

"Yes, and I think it's best to leave them alone…Let's go now!" Fuji took his leave. Taka and Oishi followed smiling at Eiji's expense.

"And Taka?" Fuji said.

"Could we just have the party we planned for Eiji, be set near Christmas? I think Eiji is a bit busy now…"

"Sure…I was about to say the same thing too."

"Good…"

-----------------------------

Eiji was walking side by side with Riko.

"Eiji, I think I have to tell you something."

"What is it?"

"It was you."

"Huh?"

"You were my friend back then."

"I knew you'd figure that out."

"Why didn't you say so?"

"Nya…thrill…"

"You're so bad!" Riko wept.

"What did I do? What did I do?" Eiji was panicking…she's crying.

"I hate you…"

"Oh…you…hate me?"

"Yes…I really hate you…"

"Why?"

"Because I just hate you…"

"That hurts you know…"

"Anyway, you're here now and I'm here now and the national tournament is waiting."

"Yeah, and you know what?"

"What?"

"I'd win that…on one condition."

"What condition?"

"Never leave again…"

"Who said I'd be leaving?"

"I figured you might…"

"What? I'm staying in Japan for good…even if I did not find you…"

--------------------

"Oh, we're here!" they were in front of large black gates.

Eiji's eyes widened in surprise.

"You're rich?"

"Yeah…basically, my dad is…"

"You've got the largest house I've ever seen…well, maybe Atobe's but I've never been there…anyway, I should be going now…"

"Ok…Ja ne!"

"Bye!"

* * *

**This is so mushy I almost hated it….Ah…another chapter done…My back aches and my thumb hurts a lot…Text unlimited should be blamed…Please Review!**


	9. Chapter 9: Taste the sky

**This is another chapter… HI!!!!!!! There have been some problems with uploading chapters so I couldn't update…Gomen…Here is chapter 9 anyway! Hope you guys like it! This is dedicated to Kalachuchi clan at ang aming mga diyosa!!!!!!! Kaoru-chan why won't you visit your twin!!!!!!! Hikaru misses you!!!!!!! This is for my twin Kaouru-chan!!!!!**

* * *

**Chapter 9: Taste the sky**

"Sakuno? What are you doing in there? You'll catch a cold! Go inside!" Sumire said as she glanced outside to see her granddaughter sitting on a bench, reading a tennis magazine. Karin, who was curled up and looked like a fuzzy ball, was sleeping on her lap. Sakuno was scratching the cat's belly as it turned from side to side.

She looked up from what she was reading and saw her grandma standing from the backdoor. It was late November day and winter is fast approaching…

"Hai!!!" she put down the magazine and ran inside. She was just wearing a thin dress and a mini skirt at the time and it's not a very good idea because it is starting to get cold.

"Here, have some…" Sumire offered her some hot chocolate and sat down on the table.

Sakuno took it, muttered thanks and took a place on the couch and turned on the television. Sumire followed and sat beside Sakuno. They were watching the news.

Sakuno sighed. Nothing about tennis. Oh well, it's not like the world revolves on only tennis. Karin was purring on her lap then ran outside. Sakuno did not mind since he always does that.

"What do we have here?" Sumire said, picking up the magazine Sakuno just read.

"There's a very interesting man featured in there! Anyway, it's a recap of the past Tennis Super Stars! Man, they are so awesome! Especially this man!" she pointed to a section in the page showing a fair looking man with brown hair tied in a pony.

"Oh, that's Echizen Nanjirou…he's a good student of mine once…" Sumire said, not looking surprised that Nanjirou was there.

"Really? Then, Echizen…Is he related to Ryoma?"

"Yes, Ryoma is his son…" Sumire chuckled.

_Why am I not surprised…_Sakuno thought as she continued to stare at the picture provided. _They have the same eyes…_

"What time is it, obaa-chan?" she asked her grandma?

"It's quarter to six, why?"

"Obaa-chan, could I go out for a walk? I feel so cooped up here…"

"Okay…Just come back before dinner! We're going to have oden!"

"Isn't that a bit much, obaa-chan?"

"I've been resisting the temptation to try it till winter, but I guess I lose…It's only a small pot to accommodate the two of us…but it would still be special…"

"Hai! I'll come home before dinner to help you prepare!

"Iie…it'll be alright! It's just a little…take your time!"

"Arigatou, obaa-chan!"

Sakuno dashed to the door then Sumire glanced from the kitchen.

"Could you buy some drinks on your way home? We're out!"

"Hai!" she ran out and was already five houses away when she remembered that she did not have any money with her. _Oh no…_she immediately ran back to the house.

"Nani? You forgot something?" Sumire called from the kitchen when she saw Sakuno enter and ran frantically up the stairs.

"I forgot my money!" Sakuno shouted as she scrambled for her purse. Karin was eyeing her every move."Hi Karin!"

The cat purred and rubbed its head on her leg.

"Do you want to go out with me?" she asked. The cat looked at her and seemed to nod.

Sakuno took this as an agreement and took the cat in her arms after she put on a light blue sweater and boots. She tucked the purse in a small periwinkle messenger bag that hung from her right shoulder. She ran out the door saying that she would be taking the cat with her.

---------------------

In the park, Sakuno sat down on a bench after walking for about fifteen minutes. They were in the fountain area, her favorite place in the park. She had already bought some drinks from the store. She put it beside her when she sat down.

"Ne…Karin-chan kawaii desu ne!" she patted the cat on the head. "It's so nice in here…" she watched as the huge fountain play with the water.

-----------------------------

Momo and Ryoma had just finished their tennis match. They were playing doubles in the park. Their opponents were from other schools. They even played against some Fudomine players and because of Ann being there, Momo somehow get distracted since Kamio was beside Ann. Momo seemed to get so annoyed that he could not concentrate solely on the game. But since Momo is so angry, every time he tries to focus on the game, he throws smashes that the opponents can't return and so they won.

Momo dragged Ryoma out of the court after the match. He did not even look at the others to say 'goodbye' or 'it was a nice game'. He simply bawled out dragging a smirking Ryoma.

They walked around in the park and came upon the fountain area. There were benches around it so they took one and sat down.

"I'm going to get some drinks…" he stood up and went to a vending machine.

---------------------------

"Where did Momo-chan go?" Ann asked Kamio. He had been blocking her view.

"He went out after his match. He even practically dragged Echizen with him. I think they went towards that way" He answered, pointing to the path towards the fountain area.

Ann fell silent for a moment then threw Kamio her sweetest smile.

"Kamio-kun, can I ask you a favor?" she said, trying on her cutest voice that no one ever had the guts to say no.

"Anything! Anything!" Kamio exclaimed, clasping his hands real hard, heart shapes were forming in his eyes and around him.

"Tell onii-chan that I'm going out with Momo-chan tonight! Arigatou!" Ann shook Kamio's hand while Kamio seemed spaced-out.

"But…but…" Kamio murmured.

"Just vouch for me! Ganbatte Kamio-kun! Ja ne!" Ann dashed out of the courts and ran towards the direction Kamio pointed to.

"Wait…Tachibana-buchou would kill…me…" he tried to shout but only managed a whisper.

"Better luck next time, buddy." Shinji patted the frozen Kamio's back.

-----------------------------

Sakuno was staring at the fountain while petting Karin. She was oblivious to the other people around her. She saw a vending machine nearby and decided to buy some drink to enjoy walking home. She will just save what she bought for later. Karin somehow sensed where she was going and ran ahead of her.Sakuno smiled as she followed Karin with her gaze when the cat stopped in font of a person going to the vending machine also. Sakuno hurried to the machine to pick up her cat. Instead, the boy picked up the cat and looked at it.

"Gomen…that's my cat…gomen...Ryoma-kun?!?" Sakuno realized that it was Ryoma. He stared at her and blushed for no apparent reason.

"Here…" Ryoma handed the cat to Sakuno. '_Nice…of all the things I could chance upon it was really her…I wonder why we almost seem to meet accidentally most of the time…but why I am feeling so happy that I met her here? Nah…why I am always happy when I see her…every time…and there's this stupid embarrassing sensation that eats me up when she's close…is this what they call…craziness? Iie…It's certainly not that or I would have committed suicide…Anou…why is she turning red? It's not like it's hot…ARRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!! Stop you stupid thoughts! _

_It's him…_ Sakuno tried hard to hide her blush. She closed her eyes to think of something to do when…

"Anou…could you get out of the way? You're blocking the coin slot…" Ryoma said, tilting his hat.

Sakuno got out of the way and started apologizing.

"Betzuni…" Ryoma replied as he waited for the Ponta to drop.

----------------------------

Momo was having a fight with himself for acting really weird during the match. He just couldn't stand seeing that 'I'm in the rhythm' guy hanging over with his Ann-chan. Then again, he did not own her so she had the right to be with anyone she wants. But the again, why won't that someone be just him? This is so confusing.

"Momoshiro-kun? Daijoubu desu ka?" the sweet voice he longed to hear called to him. He looked up to see a smiling Tachibana Ann staring at him.

Momo fought the blush coming on sice her face was less than a feet away from his face. "Hai! Hai! I'm fine!" he answered, swinging his hands frantically, trying to inch away from her face.

"Sure?" she asked.

"Really! Why are you here anyway?" he asked settling down on the chair as Ann sat next to him.

"I want to go out with Momoshiro-kun, tonight!" Ann said.

Momo blushed like there was no tomorrow as all the blood in his body rushed to his face. He was overflowing with joy he did not know what to say.

"Hai!" he mastered to say after what seemed like an eternity of trying to calm down.

"Then let's go!" Ann stood up and grabbed his arm.

Momo was smiled. She was clinging on his arm…like they were, you know…

"Matte! Echizen just went to get a drink from the vending machine! I think I should tell him." Momo excused.

"Alright…where is that?" Ann asked.

"There!" Momo pointed. They could still see Echizen at the vending machine…with a girl.

"Isn't that," Ann said.

"That's Sakuno-chan!" Momo exclaimed, feeling pride for his kouhai.

"I think we should not disturb them…they look so cute together…" Ann said.

"Yeah…but still…OI! ECHIZEN!" Momo called.

---------------------------

Ryoma was opening his drink when he heard Momo call for him. He turned around to look just to see Momo with a stupid grin plastered on his face and Ann clinging to him, no less.

"I'M GOING WITH ANN-CHAN!!! JA NE!!!" he shouted while Ann chuckled. They both went on their way.

Ryoma watched them.

"and, oh yeah, GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR GIRL, ECHIZEN!!!" he added. Everyone else on the park looked at Ryoma and Sakuno. Ryoma threw Momo a death glare while clenching his fist. Sakuno hid her face with her hands as her face burned up with embarrassment at what she was hearing around her.

"Those two are a cute couple…:

"Kawaii!!!" some high school girls exclaimed, one of them taking pictures of them.

"What a lucky guy…" some boys said.

Ryoma also hearing these, felt the urge to punch Momo and his big mouth. He looked up to see Momo running away with Ann. He tilted his cap down, grabbed Sakuno's hand, and ran away from the place.

"Oi…" Sakuno was surprised at Ryoma's action but never complained.

"I'll walk you home…" he whispered to her he was still holding her hand.

"Huh? Oh…thanks…" she replied. It was getting dark, anyway.

They were walking along the city sidewalk…lights were lit up everywhere making the night life really exciting and beautiful. Surprisingly, Ryoma had no let go of her hand…still she did not say anything…

"Anou…Ryoma-kun,"

"So I won't loose you in the crowd…" he said, his hold on her hand tightened.

Sakuno blushed._ Why is it everything you do is just blush? Say something! Or do something to ease up the tension! BUT WHAT WOULD I SAY?!?_

"Ryoma-kun…ooopp! GOMEN!" Ryoma had stopped abruptly making Sakuno crush into his back and hug him from behind. Sakuno immediately took a step away but got pulled by Ryoma causing them to collide with each other.

"Just stay like that." Ryoma said as Sakuno was hugging him like earlier.

"Demo…"

"It's snowing…"

Sakuno's face lit up. The first snow of the season…with Ryoma!

"Do me a favor, Ryuzaki-chan…"

"Ok…and please call me Sakuno or anything, except Ryuzaki…I feel confused with my obaa-chan…"

"Sure…and since you already agreed before I tell my favor, you can't back out now…"

"Fine…now what is it?"

"Spend every first snow every year with me, Sakuno-chan!" Ryoma said to Sakuno, a genuine smile shown on his face, a very special smile just for Sakuno._ I don't have a clue why l want to be with you on special days like this but I'm happy you agreed to be with me…just me…_

"Hai!" she replied, overflowing with joy because she saw Ryoma smile because of happiness and not because of his opponents.

"And, Sakuno-chan?"

"What?"

"You're not allowed to date other boys."

"Why?"

"Because I said so…"

"Anou…etou…alright…"

Ryoma smiled at her again.

_-------------------------- _

"Hey, Momo-chan! Look! It's snowing! Suteki!" Ann beamed. They were currently at Momo's favorite burger joint, eating…what else?

"It's so beautiful…and so relaxing…" Momo said.

"Yeah…" Ann agreed.

"Like you are…"

Ann blushed when she got what he meant by that and giggled.

-----------------------------

Fuji looked up from what he was doing. He noticed the pack of snow forming on the windowsill.

"Hey, Akari! Look outside!" he said to the girl beside him who was doing homework.

"Huh? What is it?" she looked out to see the snow falling slowly. "Sugoi!"

Fuji saw enjoyment glittering in her caramel eyes. He smiled. This was the same neighbor who asked him to help out in her homework, her face stressed out from too much worry, but now her short black hair bounced with excitement as she ran out of the house to bask in the snow. Fuji followed closely behind.

"This is so great!" Akari danced around the garden. They were in Fuji's house actually.

Fuji watched the girl dance around happily. It's not like she just saw snow for the first time, it's just that she loves winter so much and is so excited about it all year round.

Akari is in the same class as Fuji and also his next-door neighbor. They were best friends ever since they could remember. She was really pretty, kind…

"Ittai!"

And clumsy.

Fuji fought back a laugh and then rushed to help her.

"Damn rock!" Akari grabbed the offending rock and threw it away.

"Here, let me help you." He took her hands and helped her stand up. He let go of his grasp but she held it still.

"Nani?"

Akari smiled. "Dance with me…"

Before Fuji could say anything, they began swaying in circles.

"This is fun!" Akari exclaimed then chuckled.

Fuji looked at her with opened eyes and smiled at her.

------------------------

"Hey, Takashi! Stop that for a while! You could rest for a bit!" his father called inside the restaurant.

"Hai!" Taka went outside and watched the snow for a moment.

"Hey, Taka-san! A girl called.

"Oh, hi Yui!" he replied, looking at the girl approaching him. The daughter of the owner of the book store across the street. They were close friends.

"Winter is finally here!" Yui said, locking Taka in a hug. Yui is a very quiet girl sometimes. She has clear blue eyes and curly black hair. She also has a very pleasing attitude and is fair-looking.

"Sou ka!" Taka replied.

-------------------------------

"Oi! Give that back here!" Eiji shouted, running after a certain brown-haired girl. Her short hair flowing as she ran. Eiji saw this as they ran. They had been given a project recently and they were partners. Riko was allowed by her maids to sleep-over at Eiji's house.

"No, I won't!" Riko ran.

"One…Two…Three…Gotcha!" Eiji leaped and they both stumbled into Eiji's backyard.

"Hah! I got it!" Eiji grabbed the chocolate from Riko's hands.

"Hey!" Riko tried to steal back the chocolate.

They looked at each other, and then they both laughed.

Then Riko stopped. Then blushed.

"Nani?!?" Eiji threw his neighbor a puzzled look.

"Anou…Eiji…would you get off of me?" Riko looked away.

Eiji tried to ask why, and then he realized then turned white. He scampered to sit down but slipped because of the snow.

Riko was trying to stand up too when Eiji came crashing down towards her and…kissed…her…on…the…lips…

_'Click' 'Click' 'Click'_

Three flashes startled Eiji and Riko before they sprang away from each other. Eiji's sister was standing

"Mou! Those are really good! Riko-chan, Eiji, Dinner's ready!" she said then ran back inside the house.

Riko can't speak. She covered her mouth. _My first kiss…_

"Sorry, Riko-chan! It was an accident! I swear!" Eiji tried to apologize. He knew Riko's temper really well.

Riko shot him a smile. Eiji thought he was forgiven and smiled too. Then they looked at the sky to see the first snow of the year falling.

-----------------------------

Kaidoh was on the veranda room looking out. The he saw Yumi walk out to veranda room. Across the street.

"Hello, Kaidoh-kun!" Yumi said as she her navy blue hair. Her black eyes staring at the boy across the street.

"Fsssshhhhhhhh…"

"So nice…" Yumi stretched out her hand as snow fell on it then melted, her face shone with tenderness and love as she stared longingly at the snow.

Kaidoh just stared at her.

----------------------

"And you know what? We went to the department store afterwards because I want a new dress for the winter…I'm so happy1 I bought this dark blue ski jacket and a light blue scarf! I tried to get you one too, but they ran out so I guess it can't be helped…Gomen…" Miharu talked over the phone; she had been doing that for an hour now. She was starting to get annoyed to the person on the other end of the line who answered just one sentence or two when she asks him something. _Oh well, knowing him for a long time, I should get used to him doing that…_

Tezuka relaxed when the girl suddenly stopped talking. He could have sworn his ears were already bleeding.

"Miharu-chan, don't you have anything else to do?" he asked.

"That's why I'm calling you because I have nothing else to do…" she replied.

"Ok…"

"You know what? It's already snowing outside!"

Tezuka does not seem to faze at all. He just walked to the nearby window and stared outside.

"Yeah…it is…"

Tezuka saw his reflection on the window. There he was, holding a phone to his ear, speaking to the only person who ever called because of nothing yet the only person he did not have the courage to hang up on. He did not know his reason but he would still listen to her talk for hours on end on the phone even if it wasn't really interesting or urgent. If it's Inui he would slam it back quickly, but this one special caller…

"Hey, Tezuka-chan?

"Yes?"

"Anou…I love you…"

Tezuka's eyes widened in surprise but came back to normal again but this time, for the first time, he smiled.

"Yes, I know…now…" with that and he gently placed the phone back on the holder, and for once, he was smiling.

"What have I done?" Miharu asked herself as she did the same thing as Tezuka.

-----------------------------

Inui was busy copying his notes to another notebook for data storage so that he could arrange it properly to whose data it is. Then his laptop buzzed and in popped an e-mail from his constant chat mate. A girl living in Osaka named Kaori. She's an old friend of Inui who moved out of Tokyo because her parents were requested to move there because of the last will of her grandmother. First they were just sending letters but since the internet and e-mail came they were able to talk to each other almost three times a week.

_I saw on t.v that it was snowing in Tokyo! I wish I could see it personally…The first snow of the year is really great…because the roads and trees are still dry unlike on other days when you can't see the difference._

Inui smirked. For no known apparent reason.

----------------------------

"Are you alright, now? You might faint again…" Oishi said, while assisting Yuna to sit down on the engawa.

"Don't worry too much, I could handle this and besides, stop acting like my mom…"

"But…here…you might catch a cold." Oishi draped his regular jersey over her.

"Don't you need it?"

"I'm fine this way…" Oishi said as he smiled, assuring her that he's going to be fine. He looked at the girl beside him. Even if she's sick, she could still keep her long red hair shiny and soft although her onyx eyes always seem weary.

"What are you staring at?" Yuna asked him.

"H-huh? Ah, nothing!"

"Hontou?"

"Really…"

"I'm so thankful that you always have time for me, Oishi-kun." Yuna smiled at him.

"Betzuni…besides you are my friend and you need friends to visit you since you are too sick to come out."

"Yeah, you're right."

"And because I like taking care of other people…especially you…"

"I'm so glad you're my friend!"

* * *

**By the way…for those who doesn't know and to those who don't have time to know what an **_**engawa**_** is…it is like a wooden porch or veranda in traditional Japanese homes…it is exposed to the sun or rain and is usually a threshold to go to the backyard or garden or something…that's all I know…Ja ne! And please review after reading this…**


	10. Chapter 10: Sakuno gets to play

**Kaoru-chan does all the work now…no not really…she works as the writer and I'm the editor and the 'publisher' of this so-called fan fiction…This had been so much fun…some of the people here might have been slightly out of character and I'm sorry for that because I really got my imagination running really fast on this story and especially in this chapter…I'm going to make Sakuno really good …Wahahahaha…**

* * *

**Chapter 10: Sakuno gets to play**

"Aww…morning already…" Sakuno fidgeted in her bed as she tried to wake up. The day is December 19, the last day of classes. She wiped her eyes and yawned. "I'm playing tennis today!" she hastily got out of bed, resulting in her sliding out of it and hitting the floor. It was such a loud crash.

"Sakuno! What's happening in there?!?" her grandmother called, probably from the kitchen.

"Oh, man…" she got up and tossed the blanket back to her bed. "Nothing, oba-chan!"

"Well, you better come down here now young lady or you'll be late for school!"

"Hai!" she went to the bathroom, took a quick warm shower and went into her school uniform. She fixed her bed, tied her hair in a ponytail and ran downstairs, grabbing her bag and tennis gear on the way.

----------------------------

"We're going home early so Tomo-chan asked me to teach her tennis after school hours." She ate the usual Japanese breakfast, since it always tastes really good.

"That's great! I'll just say I granted you permission to be absent from the club today." Sumire sipped her coffee.

"Arigatou, oba-chan!"

"Anyway, even if you did not make the ranking last week, I still think you did great."

"Thanks, but too bad I lost to Eiji-sempai…he really got me running…"

"That's why I'm really proud of them…"

Sakuno sighed. "I almost envied Ryoma back then…"

"Sakuno, even if you made it to the regulars, I still won't allow you to play…the nationals is too strict in their inspections…"

"Anyway…how is the girls' tennis club doing?"

"It will be implemented next year when you come back from the winter vacation." Sumire smiled.

"That's too close now…Are there activities of the club? Like tournaments?"

"Of course, there is! And I get to coach it too! The girls will also compete with the other teams in Tokyo like Fudomine, Hyotei, Yamabuki and St. Rudolf. If you won then you advance to the Kantou Regional then Kansai then the Nationals."

"That's great! Now I get to play!"

"That is, if you get into the regulars."

"I swear I'll do my best!"

"That's my Sakuno! Why try when you can do it!"

"Geez…thanks!"

"And Riko called me, she said she have a surprise for you."

"What is it?"

"That's for me to know and for you to guess. Riko would tell you when you get to school."

"Look at the time! See you at school, oba-chan!" she picked up her things and dashed to the school.

"Tomo-chan! Ohayou!" Sakuno said as she entered the room. Tomoka was having a catfight with Horio again, and so early in the morning.

"Oh Yeah?!? And you know what I think of you? I think you're aOhayou, Sakuno-chan!" Tomoka shouted. Horio was slightly confused about the suddenly change in context and turned around to see Sakuno holding her school bag and a tennis bag slumped in her shoulder.

"Sakuno! I did not know you play tennis?" Katsuo was the one to talk first.

"Yeah, she does! And you know what else? She really is good! She almost won hmmpfhpmmhhm" Sakuno had covered Tomoka's mouth before she says something unnecessary.

"What?" Horio, Katsuo and Kachiro all have puzzled looks.

"Betzuni! Hahahahah…she's just joking!" Sakuno finally let go since her best friend is turning a nice shade of violet. Tomoka tried to get air in her lungs again.

"And…she's…teaching me…this…afternoon!" she said between taking in oxygen.

"Really? Could we go too?" Kachiro asked.

"Anou…don't you three have club activities this afternoon? It's the last day of classes for this year so I think you're going to be needed there…" Sakuno said. _Sumimasen…but I don't want you three in there…and it's nothing personal really…_

Classes ended at 1pm that day. Sakuno was already getting ready to leave when Tomoka insisted that they watch Ryoma play first. Riko took this time to execute her plans. She went to the back of the high school building and seeing no one there, she turned on her phone and dialed her favorite restaurant.

"Moshi moshi…this is Shinohara restaurant, how may I help you?"

"Hey, Haru! It's me, Riko! I'm inviting 14 people over."

"Sure! When will we expect you to come?"

"This afternoon…around 4pm…"

"We'll do as you say, miss…"

"Arigatou gozaimasu! And make sure you have some strawberry parfait for me!"

"But it's cold, don't you want something warm?"

"Nah…I'm craving for some ice cream now…" she twiddled her hair.

"Alright…"

"Heheheheh…Bye!"

"Ok…Ja ne!"

"Now to invite people!" she went near the courts where she found Sakuno and Tomoka watching the regulars play. She had been introduced to them by none other than Eiji and the three of them really get along with each other. She also met three freshmen members of the tennis club when she came once to see them play.

"Ryuzaki-chan! Osakada-chan!" she called to them as she went near.

"Nee-chan!" they greeted her.

"Sakuno, Tomoka, I want you gals to come over my place for one whole week! Since its winter, a trip to the hot springs will ease the cold!" Riko announced.

"Really? For one whole week?" Tomo gasped, not only could she rest from babysitting her brothers for a week, she also get to a hot spring!

"Demo…I'm not sure if I can go with you…Oba-chan would be left alone in our house."

"Don't worry! I got permission from your grandma already! She said the other coaches had suddenly wanted to go to some resort spa somewhere and she can't get off it. She was really happy that I invited you over because she might just skip the trip if you were left alone for the holidays." After this, Sakuno's expression lightened up. So that was the surprise the coach was talking about.

"How about us, Riko nee-chan?" Horio asked, holding on to the fence like he was some kind of prisoner.

"Horio…We're not invi," Katsuo said.

"Don't say that! You three are also invited!" then Riko took five coupons from her pocket and gave each of them one.

"What's this?" Horio asked.

"It's an entrance ticket…" Riko said.

"To your restaurant? I thought it was expensive in there?" Tomoka asked.

"We'll meet there to discuss the outing…Anyway I plan to get this on the road the day after tomorrow."

"Hai! Arigatou gozaimashita, Riko nee-chan!" the five said.

"I'm glad to hear you are all coming…thanks…" she walked away to a nearby tree and dialed someone's number.

"I think we should get going too, Sakuno-chan!" Tomoka picked up her bag and they went to the tennis courts on top of a really tall building to pass the time before they go to Riko's.

"Hey! This is Riko! Do you see the tree with a bench underneath it?"

"Yes, I see you…what do you want?"

"Could you come over here for a sec?"

"No."

"Oh please please please!"

"Alright…but make sure whatever you want is worth it."

"Roger!"

"Hey, where are you going?" Oishi asked. They were watching Kaidoh and Taka play. All the other regulars looked at their captain.

"To meet somebody. I'll be back immediately." He walked away.

"Nya…who do you think he's meeting up with?" Eiji was bouncing with curiosity.

"Maybe something might be going on…" Fuji said.

"Don't just stand there! Let's go!" Momo grabbed Echizen and so does Eiji.

"Hey! Who said I'm going?" Ryoma was pretty annoyed because he had dropped his Ponta when they suddenly took hold of him.

"Ii data…" Inui followed.

"I don't think this is a good idea guys!" Oishi said but he followed them, nonetheless.

They followed Tezuka like the expert stalkers they are. Soon they saw Tezuka stop in front of a tree. They crowded in the bushes and it was amazing how it hid them well.

Eiji went up to the front to see who Tezuka met up. To his surprise, it was Riko. He gasped when she suddenly gave him a peck on the cheeks and usher him to sit beside her. They can't here what they were talking about but Eiji's frown grows more and more visible to the others. They just stared at him and tried to convert him back to sanity.

"Kuni-chan!" Riko rushed to Tezuka and gave him a kiss. Tezuka doesn't seem to mind it and he sat next to her. She was smiling sheepishly.

"Here…" she handed him the remaining tickets.

"What do you want again?" Tezuka inquired.

"I want to invite all the regulars to the restaurant…They're having a welcome party for me since I just came back after six years. They said I could invite friends to go there."

"Hn."

"What would I take that for?"

"Yes…"

"Oh thank you! thank you! thank you!" she hugged him and shook his hands profusely.

"I'll give this to the others after club activities." He stood up and walked away.

"Wait!" she ran up to him. "I invited Sakuno, Tomoka, and those other three freshmen. Please make you they come. The girls are on Colossians tennis courts, maybe you could pick them up?"

"I'll consider."

"Hey get out! Get out!" Momo was covering his nose.

"Argh! What's that smell?!?" Oishi said.

"Echizen farted!" Momo pointed out.

"Excuse me! I did not! Maybe it was you!" Ryoma retorted.

"AH! Fresh air! Need…fresh…air!" Eiji basked in the cool winter wind.

"Tezuka's leaving! 70 percent chance that he'll make us run 50 laps when he comes back before us, 20 percent chance he'll see us here and 10 percent chance that he'll know we're eavesdropping…"

"What are we waiting for? Run!" the others shouted and they scrambled to race Tezuka to the courts.

They all managed to come back before Tezuka and they fixed themselves to make them look presentable and innocent.

"Tezuka, you're back! What happened?" Oishi asked as the captain stood beside him.

"Later…"

"Hmph!" Eiji grunted though no one heard him. He was fuming.

After tennis practice, they were all in the locker room. Eiji had been quiet since they came back.

"What's this?" Oishi asked Tezuka after Tezuka handed him some tickets.

"Riko invited us to her welcome party. Give it to the others."

"Sure."

Oishi distributed it to the others.

"Is this what I think it is?" Momo gasped.

"This is…this is…" Taka murmured.

"The most expensive restaurant in Ginzan."

"Why are we going here?" Fuji asked.

"Riko invited us to a party in there."

"Gee…It said 4pm…It's already 3:15! Maybe we should get going…"

"Yeah! Let's!" Momo shouted and they left.

Since they arrived at the tennis courts, they were having a good time. But about 15 minutes ago, some students from a school nearby entered the court Sakuno and Tomoka were in and demanded that they leave. Tomoka refused since, of course, they were the first ones there. The students got angry and challenged the two of them to a match, thinking that they would be squashed by them easily. Sakuno refused but finally accepted when they started insulting the Seigaku regulars.

"Oh…so you think you can win me now, can you?" the senior student taunted.

"Don't ever insult Seigaku tennis club again!" she said.

"Well, little girl, how about a bet?"

"Just shut up and let's play!"

He smirked, he snapped his fingers and his classmates took Tomoka and pulled on her hair.

"Hey! Stop that!"

"If we win, you leave and never come back here, if we lose, which is most unlikely, we'll give you your loud friend back."

"You bastards!!!" Tomoka bit the hand that covers her mouth. The owner clasped it in pain and hit Tomoka on the head.

"Ittai!" Tomoka almost cried in pain.

"You're going too far!"

"Yeah, and it's your fault."

"Then let's play…" Sakuno stepped on the court and picked up a ball.

"Are you sure they're still here?" Momo asked as they got out of the elevator and walked inside the tennis complex. It was empty except for some people.

"Oh, look! There they are!" Taka said, pointing at the only people they see in the complex.

"Isn't that Sakuno?" Fuji opened his eyes. "and her friend."

"What are they doing to them?" Momo saw Osakada sitting on the ground, crying. Sakuno was on the court saying something to a boy then she picked up a ball and got ready to serve.

"They seem to be in trouble! Let's go to, What?" Taka was about to go when Tezuka blocked his way.

"Those girls knew perfectly what they're doing…let them fight for themselves…if they can't handle it we could easily go there…" Tezuka walked to a closer distance where they could still not be seen and where they could perfectly watch the match from above.

Ryoma followed his sempais. He knew what was going on and felt a slight pang of worry scratch on him. However, due to Tezuka, they just watched.

Sakuno was taking time before she serves, she was trying to calm down before she hit the ball.

"What? Are you chickening out?"

Sakuno closed her eyes for a moment before she opened them. She then got into a position she always wanted to try. She bended her knees, arched her back, and served. _It's time to get serious and try those skills I watched for a long time…_

Everyone watching from the upper stands was surprised. The ball spun on the ground then hit her opponent square on the face. Even Tezuka could not suppress his shock. Who would have thought little Ryuzaki could do that. Ryoma spilled the contents of his Ponta in Mom's bag but wiped it away before Momo could get back to his composure.

"This is going to be such a nice little game, ne, Tezuka?" Fuji smiled.

"Hn…"

"You're here!" Riko hugged her old friends. They haven't seen each other for the past, say, 6 years also.

"Riko! I'm so glad to see you! What's up?" one of her friends asked.

"I'm going to have a little reunion for all of us!" she announced.

"Really?"

"Where?"

"When?"

"Geez…for the holidays, I think it's perfect…"

"It's so nice to see all of us here! I've missed you guys! So much!" she hugged one of her friends then the others hugged them too.

"Group hug!" they all said, they were in a private room in the restaurant. The food had not yet arrived but the table is all set for almost 30 people to eat at once.

They all sat down and chatted with each other. They were once a gang when they were 6 years old and they were so happy with the company of each other.

"Where have you guys been this past six years?" Riko mused.

"Well, I've been trying my best in my subjects, school is so much worse than I thought." Akari clutched her head like she was having a headache.

"I help my father in our bookstore. And it's so much fun! I get extra allowance and I get to read any book I want!" Yui really looked happy.

They all looked to the third girl in line.

"Who? Me? Okay…What did I do for the past six years…hmmm…I guess I just studied then…anou…I'm going to Rikkaidai and I play tennis…Actually I'm on the regulars!" Miharu said.

"Really? That's great!" all of her friends said. "Sugoi! Congrats!"

"Oh, thanks, guys."

Yumi raised her hand. "My turn, my turn!"

"Go, girl!"

"I got addicted to studying and always got the top places in my class. I already got a scholarship to Tokyo university!"

"Wow! You really are the smartest in our group! Could you teach me, sometimes?" all of the asked.

"Sure, when I get a free time…"

The door slid open and another girl stepped inside.

"Did I make it?" she asked the surprised group.

Then a large noise erupted in the room.

"KAORI-CHAN!" they all enveloped her in a hug.

"Hey, guys, wait! I still need to breathe, you know!"

"How's Osaka?" Miharu asked.

"Great just great!" she sat down next to Miharu. "Oh, guys, I've missed you so much!"

"How long are you gonna stay here in Tokyo?"

"I'm staying until I finish my studies. I got a grant from a school in Tokyo, It's Hyotei."

"Oh, We're still scattered…" Yumi said.

"And I have a surprise for you guys!" All looked at Kaori when she clapped her hands and the door slid open showing one of their dear old friends.

"Oh my, is that really you?"

"I can't believe this is happening!"

"YUNA!" this time the whole building shook from the noise.

"Are you alright now?"

"You're not sick anymore?"

"You need some water?"

"No, gals, I just need oxygen! You're too close." Everyone took their seats as they straightened themselves.

"The doctor said I'm in the recovery state now…Actually I just got my operation 3 months ago. I pulled through!" she smiled at her friends.

"I'm so happy!" almost all of them were teary.

"Don't cry…you should be happy for me…besides I could hang out with you now!"

"How could Ryuzaki do that?" Horio asked.

"This time, I have no idea…I never have data tennis on her…just her relationship with Echizen…" Inui readied his notebook.

"Well that's wrong we don't have a relationship or whatever you call it!" Ryoma said. He looked at the match again. _Well, it figures…_

"What the…" the guy touched his sore cheek. The girl got hit him hard on the face. ?

"15-0! Care to continue?" Sakuno smirked, now when did she learn that?

"Tch. The game had just began…" he seem to smile.

Sakuno got ready to serve again but she just hit a normal serve.

Sakuno did not have a hard time winning the next games. Her opponent could not even win one.

"5-0!" Sakuno announced the score. It was her opponent's service again.

Her opponent was now sweating and really angry. He can't even win a single game with a little girl and to top it all he was the captain of his school's tennis team. This should have been a shock for him and his companions.

"Do you still want to play?" Sakuno asked, she was not tired at all.

"Shut up, little girl!" he served the ball and hit it in a far corner in Sakuno's court. She managed to return it, but she almost missed.

"Tch." He smirked then returned a shot. Sakuno did not caught up with it.

"HAH! 15-0!" he laughed.

"That's so good for you!" Sakuno smiled at him.

"Are you insulting me?"

"Ah…I think not…"

"Don't mess with me, little girl."

"Then what do you think I'm doing?"

"Urusai!" he served again. Sakuno returned it easily. The game continued.

"Ok." Sakuno kept her mouth shut.

He served again. Sakuno returned and seeing him still in the baseline, she tried her drop shot. And true to her assumptions, he did not return it.

"That friend of yours got our captain riled up." The one holding Tomoka on the left said.

"Of course she will! She's greater than most people think…" Tomoka smiled. Then they let go of her. She brushed her hands and continued to watch the game since the two were still guarding her.

"There's 100 percent chance that drop shot is similar to the one Minagawa does." Inui scribbled in his note. "And Sakuno's data here is almost the same as that Minagawa's…Even her service games and other techniques except for the Twist serve since we don't see Minagawa do that."

_Che…She's so busted now…_but still Ryoma kept his discovery to himself. There are other ways of exposing something his way. He looked at the person behind him. Eiji just sat behind, not watching the game and also seem to shoot Tezuka a really angry glare. Ryoma had never seen his face so angry before, and for a reason Ryoma had to guess. HE just took a sip from his new Ponta and turned back to the game.

Eiji was sulking in the back. He could not see the game and he was too bored to stand. His cell phone rang and he answered.

"Hey, Eiji-chan! Where are you now?" Riko was on the other line.

"I don't know!" Eiji tried to hide his annoyance but it still showed.

"Do you have a problem?" Riko asked him, her voice filled with worry.

"Why do you even care?" he said and ended the call.

'_What's his problem, I'm sure it's not me because I'm also sure I hadn't done anything wrong lately…'_ Riko wondered as her friends started asking her why.

Sakuno got ready to return his opponent's serve. Just one more point and she would win.

Hayate was now furious. One wrong move and he would lose, badly lose, and to this little innocent looking girl, nonetheless. He's giving this all he's got.

He served it. It bounced on Sakuno's court and she hit it easily. He hit it back. The game continued for a while but then, she did her drop shot again and he did not even bother to move from his spot which was at the baseline of the court.

Sakuno smiled, pointed her racket at him, "Mada mada dane!"…Geez…she's been itching to try to say that months ago and really, it soothed her nerves, and she won't ever say that phrase ever again. She just convinced herself that she had her fill.

Clapping noises erupted from up the stands. All people in the court looked up to see the Regulars clapping their hands and shouting her name.

"Nice one, Sakuno-chan!" Oishi shouted.

"Of all the things Echizen could have given to you, you got his favorite phrase!" Momo ran to the court. The others followed and so does Eiji.

"BURNING!!!!! GOOD JOB, BABY!!!" Taka accidentally got hold of his racket.

"That's pretty, Sakuno-chan!" Fuji shook her hand.

"And now to take care of her opponents…"

Every regular got their rackets out and randomly picked the balls lying on the ground and shot each of the offenders until they ran out.

"Are you alright, Osakada-chan?" Oishi asked.

"Betzuni…they just hit me on the head nothing else." Tomoka smiled.

"I think we should be going to Riko's now? We'll be late if we don't get going…" Sakuno said, and everyone agreed as they made they're way out of the courts.

Everyone walked ahead but Sakuno was behind them all and Ryoma was walking alone also in front of her. He paused for a bit until Sakuno was by his side and walked again.

"Mada mada dane, Sakuno…" he said then walked ahead.

Sakuno just merely nod to herself.

"Hey, Where are we?" Sakuno was now walking next to Oishi.

"We're in Ginzan." He said.

"It's really huge here." Said Horio.

"Yeah…and there are lots of people." Katsuo nodded.

Sakuno walked closer to Oishi in possibility that she might get lost.

Eiji walked behind all of them. He was still sulking to himself. He stopped for a second to think what he had been doing lately and he had been missing on all the fun because of his damn stupid jealousy concerning Riko and Tezuka.

He was about to smile again when he noticed that his friends are gone and he was amidst a sea of strangers.

"Nya…where did those people go?" he turned to look around and soon can't remember the original direction where he was just walking before he stopped.

"Oh man…This is crap…" he randomly selected to go to the direction on his left and maybe find an information center where he could ask directions.

"Hey, we're here!" Fuji looked at the signboard in front of a large restaurant.

"Sugoi…I never it to be this huge…" Momo wondered.

"Come on in, Riko-san has been waiting…" the security guard checked their passes and led them in.

Riko hurriedly came to them and demanded to see Eiji.

"Kuni-chan! I'm glad you're here! Could I see Eiji?"

"Kuni-chan?" everyone behind Tezuka blurted.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?" Tezuka remained stoic though.

"Aww…don't be mad, cousin…" she smiled.

"Cousin?" again everyone behind Tezuka repeated, well, except Fuji.

Man, this guys have a problem with hearing.

"Yeah! We're cousins!" Riko announced.

"Why didn't you say so? I thought you two were," Momo was silenced before he could continue.

"We are what?"

"Cousins?" Momo replied.

"Oh…so you already knew then…now where's Eiji?"

"Eiji is right over…here…" Oishi pointed to the spot where Eiji should be but saw Taka then Taka looked back to see Fuji smiling at him. He threw a questioning look at Sakuno who was behind Fuji then Sakuno turned around to see Tomoka then Horio, Katsuo, Kachiro, Inui, Kaidoh, Momo and lastly Ryoma who threw them a look that says "What do you want?"

"Did you see Eiji?" Tezuka asked.

"How would I do that when I'm walking in front of him." He sipped his Ponta.

Everyone sweat dropped.

"What he mean is did you notice where he went?" Oishi wiped his sweat.

Ryoma tried to recall what he saw before they went in. HE recalled seeing the top of his Ponta many times, then Sakuno's hair, then his Ponta again. He did not quite know how he managed to get a glimpse of her hair besides his Ponta.

"Iie…"

"60 percent that Eiji must have lost us, 80 percent that he could not find his direction, and 100 percent that he is really hungry right now." Inui closed his notebook.

"We've got to find him!" Riko dashed out of the building then looked around her. He can't see a certain redhead bubbling anywhere. She went back inside and spoke to one of the waiters.

"Tell my friends to wait for me in the reserved section…I'll be back immediately…and serve them food…tons of food…." She instructed then ran up the stairs.

The waiter did as he was told and led them to the room.

Riko ran up the stairs and at the same time called at her house.

"What's up, Riko-chan?" a girl answered.

"Just fine…I need the chopper right now!" she dashed through the door of the rooftop and stood there.

"What for?"

"I'M LOOKING FOR SOMEONE IMPORTANT…"

"Yeah, I know now…but calm down! You're over reacting at the situation!"

"Stop playing with me, you two! Or I'll leave tomorrow!" she warned.

"How did you know?" two voices synchronized at the speaker.

"Just get it here immediately!"

"Alright! Ja ne!"

Riko waited in the rooftop thinking of possible places to look for Eiji. After about 10 minutes, a helicopter hovered over her and it stopped above her. A rope ladder dropped and she clung to it. When she got inside the chopper, she closed the door and looked at the two people present in there plus the pilot.

"Riko-chan! Who are we looking for?" a girl said.

"Yeah! Dare?"

"Kikumaru Eiji…and you two better help me…"

"Of course we would! Hit it, Kaoru-chan!" Hikaru said to her twin.

"Did you give him the tickets we gave you?"

"Hai!"

"Then this would be super easy…" Hikaru frowned.

"Yeah…too bad…" Kaoru nodded to her twin.

"Anyway…could you find him?"

"Correction! We already found him!" Hikaru corrected her.

"Really? Donoyouni?"

"Small bugs on the ticket…We just bought it last night…and we thought we could over hear what you're saying even if you're miles away from the house…" Kaoru smiled.

"I really wonder how I got sisters like you…" Riko nodded her head then hugged the surprised twins.

"Duh…Can't you remember, baka…You're father got us out of that orphanage in L.A." the twins said.

"Oh yeah right…"

"Nya…I'm so hungry…" Eiji murmured as his stomach growled 10 times for the past two minutes.

He looked ahead and saw a small ramen house. He immediately ran to it and ordered a bowl.

"Ojii-chan! I want another bowl!" he said.

"Sure…" the old man made some more and handed it to him.

"Arigatou, ojii-chan!" he ate, "This ramen taste really good!"

"Thanks…"

After a while Eiji got out of the ramen house.

"Come back soon!" the old man called.

"Don't worry! I will!"

He stretched out his hands in the air and stiffened a yawn. He remembered Riko.

"Eiji! Eiji!" he heard her voice. He looked around but couldn't see anything.

"Nya…I'm still hungry…" he went back to the ramen house and took the same seat he left just a minute ago.

"Back already?"

"Yeah, another ramen please…I'm hallucinating…" he took the bowl and ate. After his first bowl, he heard Riko calling him again. He just resumed eating and warned himself to stop thinking. Though…It called again…

"Eiji!"

"Do you hear something?" ojii-chan asked him while wiping a bowl.

"Hear what?" Eiji looked up.

"Someone shouting 'Eiji!'"

"You hear that too? Maybe you're just as hungry as I am…here…I'll make you a ramen…" Eiji bended down to get the ingredients when it called again.

"Eiji!"

Eiji got fed up and stepped outside.

"Would you stop calling my name, you!" he shouted expecting to see a clear sky but instead he saw a chopper above him and Riko peering down at him…

"What did you say?" Riko asked.

_Good thing she did not here that…_"Nothing…"

The owner of the ramen store joined Eiji sice he noticed the wind changed.

"Hey! What's happening in…whoa…who's that?" he pointed to the girl climbing down the chopper.

"The most important thing to me…well, besides tennis…but still…and she's overreacting…" Eiji waited for Riko to step on ground.

"Oh…" then the old man went back inside.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing? You got everyone worried!" Riko snapped.

"Nya…let's just go back…" Eiji walked away…Riko followed.

"We could just ride the…Oh good…they did it again…" Riko looked up to see the chopper flying away with the words –WE'RE GOING AHEAD OF YOU! JA NE! – written on a large tarpaulin the twins dangled from the chopper.

"Nya…Let's get going! Now which way?"

"There!" she pointed and they walked to that direction.

* * *

**PLEASE READ!**

**Nya...It's done!!! Hope you enjoy it and before you put something like I made Sakuno s out of character...I just did...I really want her to be that good...maybe she'll turn pro at the same age as Ryoma...and I would like to ask what would be the perfect gift for people like Ryoma...and what gifts do you think would all the characters in this story would like for Christmas! And who would be room mates..anyway, whatever you say I still get to decide on that...and yEah, thanks for those who reviewed and would review...Geez...chapters are getting longer now...**


	11. Chapter 11: Chibi Jealousy

**HAHA! This is the…ummm…yeah! This is a chapter! I can't remember what number it is…wait…wait…chapter 11! Oh gosh! And for a reviewer my answer is that yes I forgot that Kaoru is Kaidoh's first name…hehehe…but I won't be using Kaoru in reference to Kaidoh so I think just forget about it…hehehe…**

* * *

**Chapter 11: Chibi jealousy**

Tezuka followed the waiter to the designated room for them. Everyone else followed behind him. And they were all quiet because Eiji wasn't there to make some noise.

"Here…please wait for the food to arrive…" the waiter bowed to them and proceeded to the kitchen.

The girls were chatting when the door slid open and in came a number of boys they knew. They all stared at each other.

"Oh…I didn't expect to see you here…" Fuji said when Akari approached him.

"Inui-chan!" Kaori ran to Inui and flung her arms around him to the surprise of everyone who saw.

Inui detached himself from her and looked at her. She had grown pretty since he last saw her. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Mou…I am staying in Tokyo until I finish my studies. I'm currently going to study in Hyotei." She smiled.

From the other side of the room Oishi was fuzzing over a girl.

"Are you ok? Are you supposed to go out yet? I mean…how did you make it here?" Oishi was almost about to faint.

"Oishi, Oishi! Calm down…I'm fine now…anyway…I can't miss this chance when I get to see my oh so beautiful friends after a long time…" she smiled after she explained.

"Alright…but I'll walk you home after this…"

"Yes, sir!" Yuna gave him a salute and laughed.

"Taka! Sit here!" Yui shouted from a corner of the room. Taka walked to her and asked how she was.

Tezuka was sitting on a pillow at the head of the table like the leader he was. He watched everyone as they chatted or introduced themselves. Then to his left, a familiar voice called to him.

"Hey, Tezuka-chan!" Miharu mumbled.

Tezuka looked at his right to find Miharu staring at him.

"Hn."

"Aren't you going to say anything?" she asked.

"How did you know her?"

"Oh…Riko-chan…we were friends since elementary…"

"Hn."

"Nothing else you might want to say?"

"None."

"Sure?"

"Hn."

"Ok…so…I guess the foods here…" she smiled as waiters flooded the room carrying loads of food.

After the waiters finished setting up, food almost flowed out from the table.

"ITTADAKIMASU!" everyone said and started digging in.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"Mou…This is it!" Ann said as she checked the name of the restaurant one more time.

Eiji and Riko were walking towards the restaurant when they saw her.

"Wait…I think that's…" Riko said but Eiji shouted.

"Hey! Ann-chan!"

Ann turned around to see the regular and a friend she had from a longtime ago.

"Riko-sempai!" she ran to hug Riko.

"Hello…how's our favorite kouhai doing these days?" Riko asked as they went inside.

"I'm going to Fudomine now…" Ann said.

"The food here is delicious…nya?" Eiji said.

"Sure…Ah…Here we are!" she slid open the door only to find the table gleaming with wiped clean dishes and glasses.

"Eiji…where have you been?" Oishi wiped the sweat from his forehead. He tried his best to make his teammates wait but in a matter of seconds even before he could end his sentence it was all loaded to their plates and ready to pop in their mouths.

Eiji dropped his jaw to the ground. All the food he had been expecting to see, gone. He looked around him, his face a color of the palest white. The girls were already chatting; Tezuka was wiping his mouth with a white handkerchief. Momo was taking his last bites off a drumstick, while trying to look like a gentleman to Ann.

"Nani? Where's the food?" Riko asked.

Ann was beside Momo trying to talk to him.

"I guess we arrived late…" Ann said.

"Ehhhh!!!!!!!!" Eiji and Riko shouted.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Fuji was sitting beside Sakuno. She was still quiet. He was about to eat a strawberry sundae that he snatched from the table away from Momo's prying hands.

"Hey, Sakuno-chan…do you want this sundae?" he asked. From the corner of his eye he could see Ryoma turn his attention to him. Fuji smiled.

"Ah…is it okay?" Sakuno asked.

"Sure…here!" he handed her the cup and a teaspoon.

"Arigatou!" Sakuno tasted it, "It tastes so good!"

"Glad you like it…oh…you've got ice cream." Fuji said then pointed his own cheek signifying that Sakuno got ice cream in there.

Sakuno grabbed a tissue and tried to wipe it away. "Is it gone?" she asked.

"No…let me." He took a tissue and wiped it away. He saw a glaring Ryoma sitting a few meters away. _There is nothing more fun than making people suffer._

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Riko had another platter brought up for Eiji. They were sitting beside Ryoma. Since Riko was still trying to catch up with her friends, Eiji turned to a certain O'chibi.

"Nya…O'chibi…this food is great…wanna try?" he asked but Ryoma did not react.

"O'chibi! "He called to his attention but Ryoma did not budge.

"What are you looking at, nya?" Eiji asked and followed Ryoma's stare that led to a certain Tensai and a girl next to him. They were laughing at something they can't hear.

"Hoi! Hoi! Are you trying to keep an eye on them?" Eiji teased. _Our o'chibi sure is growing up._

_I sure will make that Fuji pay for this…How dare he touch Sakuno!_ Then it came to him. _Anyway…I don't like her…but why do I feel this way when I know she's happy? Kami…I fell so defeated now…this is worse than losing a tennis match…Arghh…as if I know that..._

Eiji tried to bring Ryoma back to his senses. After about 5 more minutes of not answering, Eiji shook Echizen's shoulders until he looked at him.

"Hey! O'chibi! Could you tell me what's going on!" Eiji called.

Ryoma looked at him and detached himself. "What do you want?" he looked really pissed off.

"Why are you glaring at Fuji and Sakuno-chan?" Eiji asked, a smile creeping on his face.

"I'm not…" Ryoma said.

"Hoi! Hoi! Are you jealous?" Eiji poked Ryoma's arm.

"Why would I be jealous? I don't like either of them…"

"Really?"

"Hn."

"If I were you, I'll tell her how I feel before my chance is over…You're not the only one who likes Sakuno…Almost everybody does…You're lucky she likes you…but it's hard to wait you know…"

"I'm not telling her anything…don't say such nonsense." Ryoma looked away. "And how could you say that she likes me…She's just an ordinary friend to me I happen to like spending special times with."

"Are you sure it's just that?" Eiji raised his eyebrow. He just can't wait to tell Momo about this conversation.

"Mada mada dane, Eiji-sempai…" Ryoma said. He already figured that Eiji would tell this to Momo and he wouldn't like that or the whole school would know that he was jealous over Fuji being with Sakuno. Well, as if he care about things like that, but what would she think? As if he would actually care what she thought about him. Silence. Yes, he would care…after all it was his business since it's about him…I think?

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Riko clapped her hand to get everybody's attention. She stood up when everyone looked at her.

"Okay…so who's going to come tomorrow?" she asked.

"Where?" almost all the regulars said.

"Oh yeah…you still don't know…I'd like to invite everyone here to a hot spring for one whole week!"

The room erupted mainly because of Eiji and Momo.

"Hoi! Hoi! We're going to have fun!"

"I'd go! I'd go!" Momo shouted.

"Okay…" she looked at the other regulars. They all gave a nod except for Ryoma.

"Ne…Why don't you want to go?" Riko asked. Everyone looked at Ryoma.

"I don't have time for those. I need to practice tennis since there is no school."

"O'chibi! Don't be a spoil sport! Let's go!" Eiji plead.

"I still don't want to go…"

Eiji sighed, he put his hands behind his head.

"I guess we're going to have Sakuno-chan all to ourselves for one whole week, ne Momo?" he added a smile.

Momo got his drift. "Yeah…because…ummm…yeah!"

Ryoma already knew what they're doing. If he suddenly wants to go now they'll just tease him non-stop about liking Sakuno. But, he caught a glimpse of Sakuno; she is staring at me as if I said something so hurtful. He tilted his hat.

"I changed my mind…One week away from that perverted old man would be nice…" he said.

"I knew Echizen likes Sakuno-chan too much! Maybe next time we could use the same excuse to let him do whatever we want." Momo whispered to Eiji.

"Yeah…we should do this more often...next time we'll just say we're going to kiss Sakuno-chan or whatsoever…"

"We can't do that! Buchou would kill us! And so does Coach! She'll kick us off the team!"

"Nya! That would be horrible!"

"Oh my…look at the time…I guess you should all be going!" Riko announced. "And 9am in front of Seigaku on the 21!"

"Thanks! Ja ne minna-san!" they all departed.

They were all outside. Sakuno and Tomoka were preparing to leave when Ryoma approached them, hands on his pockets. Tomoka noticed him and she quickly made an excuse to an errand somewhere and left immediately before Ryoma got there.

"Tomo…" Sakuno whispered.

"Sakuno…" Ryoma addressed her.

"Ryoma-kun…you need something?"

"It's already dark. I'll walk you home. I don't trust you by yourself at hours like this." He said.

"Nah…I could walk home by myself…and I certainly could protect myself, besides, I would just be a bother…" Sakuno turned around and scanned her surroundings. She then turned back o Ryoma again. "You happen to know how to get to my house? This place is so crowded…it's hard to remember my directions…"

Ryoma sighed then took her hands and walked her home.

"How could you say that you are a bother to me?" Ryoma asked without looking at her. He still held her hand since he might lose her in the crowd. It's rush hour.

"Anou…"

"Because you are anything but that…" Ryoma said blankly.

"Arigatou…" Sakuno smiled.

Though Ryoma could not understand what she's thankful for he just said, "Betzuni…"

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"Ore-sama feels compelled to have a hot spring vacation. Do you want to accompany ore-sama?"the captain of Hyotei proclaimed while they were still at school. With him was the whole Tennis regular team. They were resting on the benches after a tiring practice that ended that day and that year.

"Sounds good." Oshitari commented. The others nodded in agreement while Jiroh shot up, wide awake and already shouting his joy over the news.

Atobe stood up and struck a pose, his hands on his pockets.

"Then it's settled. Tomorrow we're all going to my private resort!"

"Hai!"All the other members shouted. Gakuto flipped while Jiroh came back to sleep from all of the excitement.

"Usu!" goes Kabaji.

**0o0oo0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"Ah..we're here!" Kirihara flopped down on the sofa. His teammates roamed around.

"That was such a tiring trip…" Yukimura said.

"Maybe you should go rest…Kirihara! Get out of there!" Sanada growled at the second year.

"What?!? I just got here!" Kirihara moaned but moved after receiving a glare from Sanada.

"Thanks…" Yukimura said to him. "Where did my sister go to?"

"I saw her go upstairs." Jackal answered

"AAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!" a shout rattled all of them.

"What's that?" Amaya, Yukimura's sister asked as she went down the stairs. Some of the regulars who were in the living room hurried to where it came from, the kitchen.

"What happened here?" Sanada asked.

"Marui's got a little problem…" Niou leaned on the counter.

"What is it, Marui-kun?" Amaya asked as she approached Marui who was still in front of the fridge.

"There's no cake in here!" Marui cried.

Everyone gave him their profuse pity and went back to unpacking their things.

"C'mon Bunta…It's not that bad…" Niou patted him on the back and he's got a sly smile on his face.

Marui saw this and shot him a glare. "Do you have anything to do with this? I'm sure coach wouldn't forget to load up on cake here…"

"What? Of course not! I won't do something that bad to Marui!" Niou put his hand in his pockets.

"Alright I believe you…I won't be playing tennis here anyway…but still…Oh well…got to fix my things and sleep now…" Marui skipped upstairs and went to his and Akaya's shared room.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Kirihara had gone upstairs since Sanada kicked him out of the sofa. He was rolling on the bed when Marui skipped in. He took the bed on the left opposite where Akaya is.

"So…what's your problem Marui-sempai?" he asked, a pillow covering his head.

"Nothing serious…I hope…" Marui sighed.

"There's no cake in here…I almost craved for one in the bus…" Akaya said.

"Yeah…me too…I was expecting to eat here…" Marui flopped down on the bed.

"I'm done…I'm going to sleep now…" Marui said and turned off the lights.

"Yeah…so tired…" Akaya stretched himself on his bed and hoped that morning would come soon.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"WAHHHH!!!! YOU PERVERT!!!!! WHO ARE YOU!!!!!!!!!?" Hikaru and Kaoru shouted, running out of the pool area.

"What?!? You just surprised me! Why didn't you knock in the first place!" a young man emerged from the bath fully clothed now. "And I'm not a pervert! It's Echizen Ryoga!"

"What are you doing here?" twins recognized the youngest tennis pro yet.

"Mr. Shinohara invited me here! I met him during one of my matches when I happen to want a vacation from playing. So he lends me this place for the time being…" Ryoga explained

"Then why are you…" Hikaru said.

"In the girl's pool?" Kaoru finished.

"Well…it's just that I thought nobody would be here except for me and since I know I'm alone I just randomly select any place that I want to go too! I just got here yesterday, you know!" Ryoga flopped down on the couch, "And you just came barging into the pool area!"

"Because we thought we were alone!" the twins shouted.

"Alright! I'm sorry! Now would you two quit it?!?" Ryoga cried.

The two hid behind the sofa. Ryoga was starting to lose his patience with the girls. _Now what?_

The twins peeked from the top of the sofa.

"What did you see?" they asked grimly.

"None!"

"Really?"

"Are you saying that I'm a liar?"

"Maybe…and a pervert…"

"I'm not a pervert! And who are you two anyway?" Ryoga folded his arms and stared at the two.

"I'm Hikaru!" Hikaru stood up and sat properly on the couch.

"I'm Kaoru!" Kaoru did the same.

They both have the same stance. Arms folded, legs crossed, an accusing stare at Ryoga.

_Damn…What have I gotten myself into! I should have visited my father and chibisuke first! _Ryoga thought then grabbed the remote and turned on the television. "Whatever…" he made himself comfortable in the sofa.

The twins looked at each other then ran upstairs.

_Good…They finally left me alone…or I would have gone nuts…hmmm…I wonder what Francine is doing right now…_ Ryoga thought to himself. Then his mobile phone rang.

"Hello?" Ryoga answered.

"_Ryoga! How are you doing?"_

"Great…what have you been working into?"

_"Nothing…I'm finished now…coach said I could take a rest now…this tournament ticks me off...but I'm still glad I won the championship!"_

"Really? That's great news!" then he heard someone calling the name of the girl he had just been talking to.

_"Oi Ryoga! Got to go! I've got some things to fix here…hope to see you soon!" _

"Okay…goodbye Francine!" he heard a small click. He put down the phone and went back to watching t.v. Hearing her voice relaxes him the most. _Bad thing she did not make it here…_Ryoga thought to himself. Francine was his friend for a long time now and he could finally admit to himself that he really likes her. But the thing is…he couldn't say so because it's either they both have tennis matches or one of them have. Sure they still have time for each other but he still could not tell her. And it was bugging him for quite some time now. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep over the real reason why he wants to get away from everything. He fumbled for a small contraption then pressed a button that turned the lights off in the living room. He cuddled on the couch and got his sleep.

Two shadows crept behind the sleeping Ryoga.

* * *

**It takes me longer to update now...hehehe...I've been busy...sorry about that...Please review!**


	12. Chapter 12: A day in the snow

**Hello!!! Hehe…Sorry if this may disappoint you or whatever…or if you think this sucks…but still thanks for reading…**

**PLEASE REVIEW!!!**

* * *

**Chapter 12: A day in the snow**

* * *

Ryoma woke up and yawned, all thanks to a furry brown cat who suddenly thought it was right to jump on his face.

"Karupin, you bad kitty!" he held the cat up and scolded it. It tilted its head to the side and purred. Ryoma sighed and fixed his bed. He went downstairs dressed in his usual tennis clothes, mainly shorts and a shirt.

"Ohayou…" he entered the dining area to find Nanako setting the table and his mother cooking in the kitchen.

"Ohayou Ryoma!!!" the two ladies greeted him. He smiled a little. After three days, a Japanese style breakfast at last.

"A friend invited me and the whole team to a hot spring for one week." He said.

"Well, that's great! When are you going?" Rinko smiled and gave Ryoma another serving.

"Tomorrow."

"Are there girls included?" Nanjiroh raised an eyebrow as he looked up from a supposed to be newspaper, only that it is dated a month ago.

"Think so…"

"Could I go too?"

"Of course…"

Nanjiroh smiled.

"Not…" Ryoma smirked.

Nanjiroh scowled.

After some grumblings from his father, Rinko spoke up.

"Ryoga called up last night and said he is in Japan. He'll come here for New Year…" she said.

"Where is he staying now?" Nanjiroh asked.

"He just said he's staying at a friends resort…he's taking a rest from the city life…probably he's up in the mountains." Rinko added.

Ryoma got a nagging feeling he could not shake off after that.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Hikaru and Kaoru were already playing in the covered tennis courts when Ryoga saw them. His face was red from scrubbing since those two thought its right to use his face as a drawing board while he was sleeping.

"Hoi, you two!" Ryoga folded his arms and called the twins.

"Are you talking to us?" the twins said as they continued to run in the court.

"Who else? Look what you've done to me!" he pointed to his red face.

The twins put their hand on their chin and seemed like thinking.

"I could not remember making his face red…do you?" Hikaru looked at Kaoru.

"I don't either…I was sure we used black marker…" Kaoru assured.

The two stood up straight and turned to Ryoga.

"We did not do that to you!" they both said, looking really innocent.

Ryoga was boiling with anger. He clenched his fist and trembled, stopping himself from doing something to the girls.

"Of COURSE YOU DID NOT MAKE MY FACE RED!!!" he shouted.

"Then why are you blaming us?" the twins asked.

"Just never mind…" he stomped off away from the two, hands in his pockets.

"Crazy dude…" Kaoru whispered to Hikaru who nodded in agreement. They went to play again when they suddenly stopped.

"Have you seen Juris this morning?" Hikaru asked her twin.

"No…" Kaoru started to worry.

"He must be off somewhere…Let's go look for him…he might be upset…" the twins began their search.

"Juris! Juris!" the twins called. Then Ryoga looked out the kitchen window to find the twins in front of him.

"What are you doing at the back of the house and who are you calling?" he asked.

"We're calling our dog, okay? Have you seen one anywhere?" Hikaru asked.

"No…" Ryoga almost pitied the two.

"Thanks anyway…and we're sorry for last night!" the two ran off again.

"Mada mada daze…" he shut the kitchen window and continued to fumble in the fridge.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Niou and Renji were having a tennis match. They were somewhat so intense about winning that Niou hit it a little hard and the ball was nowhere in sight.

The game stopped and they all looked at Niou.

"We've still got a hundred tennis balls here…don't worry about that…" he picked a ball from the hamper.

"But still…one is still important…someone should get it…" Yukimura said.

"Marui! Stop what you're doing and retrieve the ball!" Sanada growled.

"Why can't Akaya get it?" Marui grumbled.

"Hey! I thought we agreed on 'No one abuses the second year for one week' thing!" Akaya cried.

"Is retrieving a tennis ball an abuse?" Jackal asked Yagyuu.

"As far as I know…it's not…" Yagyuu replied.

"It would do you good to stop rolling on the ground…you will most likely develop a fever…" Renji advised.

"Demo…I want to eat cake so much now…I can't even play for long…" Marui stood up. "Where did it go?"

All the others pointed to the same direction, clearly, it came to the woods.

"I'll just get this over with…" he marched off into the woods and looked around.

"Where could that stupid ball be?" he was searching the snow covered bushes he saw about ten minutes ago. He could barely see his teammates. Then he heard something move. He turned and saw the bush rustling which made the accumulated snow on top of it fall. Marui took a closer look and in pop a small furry dog. It bounced on Marui who stumbled back.

"What could a dog be doing in here…" Marui mumbled to himself. He held the dog up and saw the name on its collar. "Juris…" he read, the dog barked.

He set it down and it ran in circles around him.

"Hey…" he said when the door went off track and fumbled in the bushes again.

"What have you got there?" Marui made his way to the dog. It turned to him, a tennis ball in its mouth, and ran away from him. "Hoi! Get back here!" he ran after it.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"Juris!" Hikaru called. Kaoru agreed to separate in searching, Kaoru searched the grounds of the house while she went to the woods. She had been calling for over 10 minutes now and her voice is beginning to waver.

"Ah…" she saw some paw prints when she looked down. The snow last night was left untouched so she could se clearly where it lead to. She ran and followed the track.

After about 5 more minutes, she stopped when she heard a bush rustle. And to her joy, out jumped Juris straight into her arms. She stumbled dow on the ground and patted her pet. "Oh Juris…you got your mommy worried…" she smiled.

"HOI! YAMETE!" a voice called.

"Huh?" she wondered. Juris dropped the tennis ball on the ground. "Now where did you get that?" she picked it up and stared at it. She heard someone stomp on the ground and looked up to see a young man peering down at her, panting.

"Whew…" Marui huffed.

"Who are you?" Hikaru stood up.

"Hah…I'm Marui…and that happens to be mine…" he nudged her to notice the ball she was holding.

"Oh…the dog took it from you…sorry…he just like picking up things…" she handed it back to him.

"Nah…it's ok…" Marui turned his back.

"Anou…would you like to come and have some tea or a cake or two at our villa? As a sorry, I guess…" Hikaru invited.

Marui instantly turned around looked happily at her. "Did you say 'cake'?"

"Yeah…only if you like too…" she scooped up the dog and hugged it gently.

"Sure…" he walked to her. The dog barked and started running away again.

"Juris! Come back here!" Hikaru ran after the dog.

Marui smirked then saw where she was heading into, and his eyes widened in shock, his feet instantly urging him to run after her, and quickly.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0 **

"Jiroh's sleeping again…" Gakuto said.

"Don't say that as if you don't know him well to not know what he's doing most of the time." Said Shishido.

"Wah…that's so pretty…" Choutarou exclaimed when he saw the scenery when he looked out the window. He was sitting beside his doubles partner.

Jiroh was sitting alone in the back of the bus. He was gently snoring.

"This really is a glorious day for the forest to grace my beauty, ne Kabaji?" Atobe was seated in the very front.

"Usu!" replied Kabaji.

They were chatting nicely when the bus suddenly halted. All was thrown forward but since they all managed to hold on something it lessened the force. But Jiroh, who was still sleeping, was thrown on the floor which is why he is now awake.

"What happened?" Atobe asked the driver.

"A girl suddenly ran into the road!" the driver stood up and went out. Atobe and the others followed.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"Juris! Come back here!" Hikaru ran, not knowing where she was running into. She heard something coming and she turned to see a bus. She knew she should run to the sides since it still hadn't hit her but she can't move.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!"

That was the last thing she heard when someone took hold of her waist and pushed her to the safe side of the road. They went rolling into a ditch ans soon everything went black.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"Ore-sama demands to know what happened here!" Atobe came out of the bus.

"Isn't that your friend, Jiroh?" Oshitari walked into the ditch.

"Marui-kun!" Jiroh came running and greeted his friend.

"Would you like to detach from her now?" Gakuto smiled sheepishly.

"Ah…oh yeah…" Marui sat up on the ground.

"She's unconscious…what have you done to her?" Shishido said.

"Nothing of course…" Marui scratched the back of his head.

Jiroh stood there wide awake.

"Is the whole Rikkaidai regulars here?" Oshitari asked.\

"Yes…"

"Is she your girlfriend?" Atobe asked.

"No…I just met her…" Marui frowned.

Jiroh sat beside the girl. A dog suddenly came and started licking her face. She moaned then opened her eyes.

"Mou…What happened?" she sat up straight next to Marui.

"Anou…you fainted…" Marui said. "AND YOU ALMOST GOT RAN OVER BY A BUS! WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST MOVE!"

"Wow…that's a first…" Oshitari adjusted his glasses. "Never heard him shout before a girl…"

"Now…now…don't get angry with such a cute little girl…" Atobe smiled and helped her up.

"Thanks…" she whispered.

Marui scowled. Hikaru went over to him.

"Thanks…you saved me…I'm sorry but I got scared…"

"Hn."

"Would you still like to have cake at our house?"

"Sure…" Marui picked up her dog and they walked off.

"Are you sure it's not his girlfriend?" Jiroh asked.

"Like I would care…" Oshitari boarded the bus.

Atobe smirked at the two walking away.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"Ah…You're back!" Kaoru ran to hug her twin. "Who's this?" she asked.

"Kaoru, this is Marui…Marui, this is my twin, Kaoru…" Hikaru introduced. "I invited him over for some cake…"

"Oh…" Kaoru took the dog from Marui.

"Yoroshiku…" Marui said. He never thought twins could look so alike like these two are. Only Hikaru wears blue while Kaoru wears red.

"I'm going to feed Juris…You two go to the porch…It's all set in there…been waiting for you…" she darted through the door and ran upatairs.

"Here…" Hikaru led Marui into the house and into the backdoor. There they saw Ryoga eating at the table.

"You're back…" he said to Hikaru. "Found the dog?"

"Yeah…" they both sat down. Hikaru got Marui a slice of strawberry.

"Geez…thanks…I've been without sweets for so long…" Marui digged in.

"How long?"

"Since yesterday…"

"Oh…" Hikaru and Ryoga nodded.

"Do you live here?" she asked.

"No…my friends and I are staying at a villa not far from here…" Marui smiled.

Ryoga sipped his tea and looked at the new arrivals. Hikaru was intently looking at Marui eating his cake. The girl was blushing faintly. Ryoga smiled and stood up.

"I think I had my fill…I'm going to the hot spring…" he said and bid them farewell.

"Who is he? Your brother?" Marui inquired.

"No he's not! He's a pervert and a…wait…uhm…he's Echizen Ryoga…"

"Really? Never thought it was him…I thought he only looked alike…" Marui said.

"Would you like more?" Hikaru offered.

"Thanks…" he took another slice.

"There's more if you want too…We've got the fridge stuffed with them…you could bring some for your friends too…" she smiled at him.

_Kawaii…_

"Anou…you've got some icing on your mouth…" Hikaru said.

"Huh?"

"Here…let me…" Hikaru took a tissue and wiped the icing off his mouth.

Marui blushed. Her face is so close to his now. One wrong move and they might be…he dismissed the thought from his mind.

"There…" Hikaru sat back.

"Er…thanks…"

"Betzuni…"

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"Hey Marui! What took you so long?" Sanada asked. All the others where rounded up in the table since lunch is ready.

"Huh? Nothing…" he sat down next to Jackal. He deposited what he was holding on the table.

"Where did you get that?" inquired Jackal.

"A girl gave it to me…"

"Oh, really? Who is she?" Akaya grinned.

"Hikaru…"

"Nah…don't know her…" Amaya said.

"Where did you meet?" Yukimura asked.

"I met her in the woods…her dog stole my tennis ball…she invited me over to their villa and gave me the cake…I got the tennis ball right here…" he reached into his pocket but there was nothing in there. He searched in his other pockets but it still wasn't there. "Oh man…where did I put it?!?"

"Maybe you forgot it over the girl's house…" Renji said.

"I guess so…" Marui shrugged.

"Just come back for it tomorrow…" said Sanada.

"How troublesome…" Marui got himself a slice of cake.

"This is interesting…could I go with you tomorrow?" Amaya asked.

"Fine…"

"How about me? I want to go too!" Akaya grinned.

"Why don't you just all go than stay cooped up in this house…" Marui suggested.

"Sure…" all the others said.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"Say…why are you two here?" Ryoga asked the twins. It was already sunset and the three were outside doing nothing.

"Some of our sister's friends are coming here tomorrow…" Hikaru replied.

"Do you know any of them…"

"Yeah…your little brother…"

Ryoga's face formed a grin. "Really?!?"

"Yes…and the whole bunch of Seigaku regulars, ne Kaoru?"

"True…"

"Wow…I'm so excited…never seen them since that cruise…" Ryoga put his arms behind his head.

"What cruise?"

"Nothing…in particular…" Ryoga went inside.

"Are you two cooking dinner?"

"Later…and why do you always share our food…you could cook for yourself!" Kaoru jolted up.

"How cruel…" Ryoga went to the kitchen and got himself an orange. _Better be ready for tomorrow…_

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"I'm so excited, Tomo-chan!" Sakuno talked over the phone.

"Me too…I don't have to take care of my brothers! They went to my grandmother's for the holidays…" Tomoka said gleefully.

"Obaa-chan's leaving tomorrow too…I don't know who would take care of Karin for me…" worried Sakuno.

"Why don't you just take her with you?"

"Because Riko-chan is allergic to cat fur…"

"Can't you have anyone to take care of her? How about Ryoma-sama?"

"He's already have a cat and I don't want to bother them…"

"But still…you need someone to feed Karin for a week…"

"Oh…alright…I'll ask them…but it's so embarrassing!"

"Nah…don't worry about it…"

"Fine…I'll ask him tonight…"

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"Sakuno! Dinner's ready!" Sumire called her granddaughter.

Sakuno was in her room, still thinking about whether to call Ryoma or not.

"Hai!" she came running downstairs.

Sumire laid down the food. "What's with the face?" worried the coach.

"If we're both leaving tomorrow…who would take care of Karin?"

"Oh…I forgot to tell you…someone's going to fetch her tomorrow…"

"Nani? Who?"

"Ryoma's mom…"

"Ehh!!!! Obaa-chan, when did you do that?"

Sumire chuckled. "Last night…Rinko called me and I brought up the subject…She said she'll be more than glad to have two cats in the house…well she said Nanjiroh would be…"

"Obaa-chan…arigatou…" Sakuno hugged her grandmother.

"Don't thank me…" Sumire smiled.

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**PLEASE REVIEW!!! and I already know it's not that good...**


	13. AUTHOR'S NOTE

**Hello everybody!**

**Sorry for not updating for nearly a month now…because of some reasons….The drafts for this story is almost finished so please just wait…I got into a serious bout of Bleach addiction and fanfiction reading that I hardly think of updating! SOOOO SORRRRYYYYYYY!!!!! But still, I will work his out and start updating again….because I would surely won't abandon this story! I just can't help myself…I became addicted to HisuHina fics…Gomen ne minna-san!**

**School would start tomorrow! That means vacation is OVER! I'm so happy and sad at the same time, in short, I'm going crazy! And since I'll start 'reviewing' for some stupid exam I have no intention of passing…Hmmmmmnnnn…..I think I'll write more! SORRY!**

**Just wait and I'll update!**

**-michiyodrops**


	14. Chapter 13: It's a long story

**I'm such a lazy person nowadays!**

* * *

**Chapter 13: It's a long story…**

"What do you want now?" Ryoma was annoyed. Momo and Eiji hadn't stopped bothering him since he showed up at Seigaku the day of the trip.

Ryoma was seated beside Sakuno due to some peculiar reasons provided by Eiji and Momo. The trip would last for four hours and the bus was buzzing with noises and girl's chattering.

"We're so bored O'chibi…let's play!" Eiji smiled while everyone turned to look at him.

Ryoma, ignoring the expectant looks from the others, blankly refused Eiji's offer.

"O'chibi…you're no fun! No wonder Sakuno-chan's looking all bored…" Eiji pointed out to an oblivious Sakuno who seemed spaced-out, she was looking out her window. It was snowing again.

"Hn." Ryoma dismissed all thoughts and tilted down his hat to block everyone from his view.

"Ehhhh…" everyone slumped back to their seats, and decided to just sleep over the trip. All you could hear was the engines and the blabber of two years of tennis experience.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

After two hours in the trip, everyone was lively again, except for Ryoma and Sakuno who got bored out of their wits and was still asleep.

"KAWAII!!!!" Miharu looked back from the top of her seat to look at the two.

"Pipe down, Miharu! You'll wake them up!" Akari pushed her down. "And seat properly!" just then the bus came into a sudden stop because of a traffic light. "See?"

After that, continuous flashes and clicks of a camera were noticed and they all looked at the most possible person, Fuji.

"What are you taking pictures at?" Eiji asked.

Fuji stopped and pointed towards Sakuno and Ryoma.

"Sweet…" Tomoka giggled.

Sakuno was leaning on Ryoma's shoulder while Ryoma had his arm draped on her shoulders.

"Why are you taking so many pictures?" Oishi asked the busily snapping tensai.

"For future references, of course!" Fuji put on a very sly smile that screamed of blackmail.

"I doubt that…" Oishi sweat dropped.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"Is everyone ready? Let's go now!" Amaya skipped towards the door. She saw her housemates still yawning while some were tying their boots and other various things. "Hurry! I want to go now!"

"Geez…it's just 9 in the morning….what's with her?" Akaya stifled a yawn. He deems 9 in the morning to wake up on a vacation.

"She may be on drugs…" Niou said.

"What?" Sanada growled.

"Nothing…" Akaya and Niou resumed what they were doing.

"Let's go…" Yukimura followed his hyper little sister outside as the rest followed suit as well.

"Nice day…" Yukimura smiled.(isn't that cute!)

"Approximately 5 hours from now there would be snow fall again…" Renji added.

"How do you know that?" Akaya asked while looking at the slightly darkened sky for any hint or whatsoever.

"It's on the news this morning…" Yagyuu answered.

"Oh…" Niou, Akaya and Marui sighed.

"Is it still far?" Amaya asked.

"Not much…" Marui said, thinking of something else to do while walking.

"I can't believe we're doing this walkathon for a tennis ball…" Niou complained.

"You still agreed anyway…" Yagyuu smirked.

"Damn…" Niou scowled at him and kept quiet for the rest of the walk.

Soon they reached the house. It was bigger than the ones they stay at, but still it wasn't a no match either. Marui knocked on the door several times. He could hear scrambling, shouting and other noises from the inside before the door opened to reveal a Haggard looking Ryoga and two girls clinging to him as if trying to pull him away from the door.

"Stop pulling my hair!" Ryoga growled. They were expecting the Seigaku regulars that morning.

"Told you that we would answer the door!" Hikaru and Kaoru snapped at him.

"Whatever…" he looked down at Marui and went back inside leaving the Rikkai regulars at the door. "Yours." He walked back to his room.

"Marui-san! What brings you here?" Hikaru smiled at him while letting him and his friends inside the house. Kaoru led them to the living room to warm them up.

"I forgot the tennis ball here yesterday…" Marui sat on the sofa that Kaoru offered, he was now sitting comfortably beside Yukimura and Sanada while the others were scattered on other seats. The living room could accommodate 20 or more people comfortably to his estimation.

"Would you like some hot chocolate? Cakes? You must be cold." Kaoru asked.

"No, thanks…we're leaving after getting the ball." Yukimura said.

"Why even bother asking…" Kaoru said. "I remembered that I don't take 'no' for an answer. Wait up!" she rushed to the kitchen, leaving Hikaru with the guests.

"Anou…you are Yukimura-san, right?" Hikaru asked the gentle Yukimura.

"It seems that Marui here has already told you about us." Yukimura smiled so gently as if he was always so charming. (ain't that the truth!)

"Yeah…" Hikaru can't help but blush, he made it sound like she and Marui are already close friends.

Kaoru arrived carrying with her a silver tray laden with tea and cakes. She set it down on the table and served them to the Rikkai boys. They all said thanks to her and began to eat up. "Enjoy…"

"This taste much better than those from the Home economics club!" Marui exclaimed, getting yet another slice.

"I'm glad you liked them." Hikaru said.

"Yeah! She made them all!" Kaoru announced, hugging her twin from behind.

"Really? You're so great!"

"Arigatou, Marui-san…" she looked away from them.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"Hey! Wake up! We're here!" Riko shook Ryoma and Sakuno. The bus had already stopped at their supposed destination. Everyone was trying to get their luggage and move out while the two of them still sat in their seats.

"Sorry…" she said to Riko who had already joined up with the rest outside. She looked apologetically at Ryoma for no apparent reason known to her.

"Hn." Ryoma grabbed his things then went out the bus. He was rubbing his shoulder because it was hurting a bit. He wasn't sure what he did though.

"O'chibi! We're going to be roommates, nya!" Eiji pounced on him then toppled his cap.

"Who decided that?" Ryoma asked.

"Hey! I got picked too!" Momo joined them.

"This is going to be fun!" Eiji exclaimed while latching on to Ryoma and Momo to drag them into a crazy dance.

"Stop it!" Ryoma detached himself from the two and straightened his clothes. "Just make sure none of you are noisy…" he mumbled.

"Come, let's go inside now…I want to have some rest!" Yuna said.

"Let me help you with that!" Oishi took her bags from her hands and assisted her into the house.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"They're here…" Kaoru ran to the door. She had been talking to their visitors about their games and she was fascinated. Hikaru was quiet the whole time and couldn't look at anyone, except for the floor.

"Kaoru-chan!" Riko hugged her sister then made way for Oishi and Yuna.

"Hello!" Hikaru came up from behind.

"Hikaru-chan!" Riko exclaimed.

"Hey guys! Let's go!" Riko beckoned the others to come in already.

When they were all inside, much to their surprise, or shock to Eiji and Momo who instantly made a run inside the whole house, to find the Rikkaidai regulars having tea in the living room.

"Nya! It's the Rikkai team!" you already know who said that.

"Tezuka…we were just about to leave…" Yukimura stood up and shook hands with Tezuka.

"Hn." He acknowledged them. The Rikkaidai team all stood up and got ready to leave.

"Thanks…" they all muttered to the twins and nodded to the Seigaku regulars. Hikaru gave the ball to Marui who hugged her and said his profuse thanks because she gave him another box of cakes as a gift.

After the others left, the room exploded with noise, like the Rikkaidai team was the source of uneasiness. No one asked why they were there in the first place so no one bothered to explain.

"I think I'm going to sleep first…" Fuji said. The others agreed with them, Momo and Eiji made a dash to their bedroom.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"I knew it…" Ryoma grumbled as he saw what was lying on one of the four beds in the room. Ryoga was reading a magazine then looked at his brother.

"Finally!" he smiled at his brother then at Momo and Eiji who also greeted him. "You still haven't grown, I see…"

"What do you want?" Ryoma was annoyed. It has only been 4 months since that cruise, and the first thing he noticed was his height.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

After dinner everyone went back to their rooms to rest up and start their real vacation tomorrow. Sakuno was one of them. She was in the same room as Tomoka, Riko and Yuna. Though tired, they started chatting about school, life and such trivial matters. It was already 10pm when they noticed the time and decided to sleep. But the conversations left Sakuno restless, she wanted to talk some more but refused to bother her already asleep roommates. She quietly snuck out the door into the living room downstairs.

No one was in there so she turned on the television to watch some late night shows. There was a t.v premiere of a Japanese blockbuster movie 2 years ago so she took some pillows and blankets from the nearby closet and made her bed on the sofa. The movie has just started.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"Where the heck is that thing!" Ryoga fumbled in his bags and luggage and cursed loudly. "Francine would kill me!" he tossed his clothes and others things from his bag in his search. His clothes littered the room.

Ryoma had his eyes half-closed. He was really really regretting ever coming there. The room was full of noise. Eiji and Momo were both snoring and it was annoying him. He already tried stuffing his head into the pillow but it still didn't mask the noises and he did not want to die in a stupid way.

"Where's that goddamned video recorder!" Ryoga still dug.

Ryoma wanted to shut him up and tell him to search for it tomorrow instead. But he found himself so lazy even to open his mouth.

Ryoma gathered up all the strength in him to stand up and walk out the room. He did not know where to go but his feet dragged him downstairs into the kitchen.

He was walking along the corridor when he heard something from the living room. He checked to see someone watching on the sofa. He approached her.

"Ryuzaki, why are you here so late at night?" he asked, plopping down beside her.

"Ah! Anou…Ryoma-kun…I can't sleep…" Sakuno had the television is a low volume but still audible.

'I think I could sleep here…' he thought and saw some blankets on the side table. 'Just my luck.' He picked some up and went over to Sakuno.

"Ryoma-kun?" Sakuno did not know what to do.

"Could I sleep here? Everywhere else is noisy." He said.

Sakuno imagined Tezuka and Inui snoring.

"Um…Sure…" she thought that he would take the other sofa at the sides but he rested up beside her and even laid his head on her lap. Sakuno sat up straight due to embarrassment.

"Anou…" she tried to protest but he was already asleep. _Ryoma-kun…_

She moved away some of the hair covering his face. She pulled up the blankets around him since she sensed that it was getting colder.

"Oyasumi, Ryoma-kun…" she smiled gently at him then turned back to the movie.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"How sweet!" Ryoga smirked. He was leaning on the railings from the second floor where you could see the living room if you peer down. He have a small video camera in his hand and he had caught all those past moments of his brother on tape. He was giggling to himself at such a perfect gift for their father.

_Click. Click. Click._

Ryoga turned to see Fuji snapping away photos with a digital camera.

"How sweet!" Fuji murmured.

* * *

**That took me an eternity! Hehe…Niculots! Eto na! cguro gawin ko na lang mga 20 chapters tong fic na to! Tapos sequel na! **


	15. Chapter 14: The birthday eve

**And for the writer of the longest review I got for this story that I read…just one thing for you…-I know perfectly well what I am doing!- that's all…But still…thanks a lot there! **

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**Chapter 14: The birthday eve**

The day is December 23. At nine o'clock in the morning, everyone is already downstairs either at the kitchen, the living room or jogging outside. But most of them were in the living room.

"O'chibi sure is fast, nya!" Eiji bounced around the couch where they all had their attention.

"How sweet! So cute!" the girl's squealed.

"So young, so young…" Momo said.

Maybe because of the intensity of the stares, or the noises or the camera clicks, Sakuno opened her eyes to see the others looking at her.

"Nani?" she asked looking rather oblivious of Ryoma still asleep on her lap.

"Just want to say 'Ohayou!'" Riko said then went to the kitchen. The girls also greeted her then went to eat breakfast also. Eiji and Momo were left since they decided to watch t.v.

Ryoma slowly opened his eyes to see Sakuno peering down on him. He was surprised to see her so early so he quickly went into a sitting position. He looked again to see everything blurry. He rubbed his eyes then looked at his surroundings again.

"Ryuzaki." He somewhat managed to sound like he said 'good morning' to her.

"Ohayou, Ryoma-kun." Sakuno tried hard not to giggle since she did not know Ryoma looked so adorable even shortly after waking up.

"Oi chibisuke! Wanna play?" Ryoga snuck up behind the couch. (surprise!)

"Hn." Ryoma remained passive so there was no sign of a 'yes' or a 'no'.

Ryoga gave his brother a mean look, "What the heck is that suppose to mean?"

"Mada mada dane." The shorter boy stood up and went to the kitchen.

"Is he off his rocket or something more horrible?" Ryoga turned to look at the seemingly innocent Sakuno.

She just shrugged her shoulders and looked at the direction Ryoma headed into.

"Say, what's your name?" Ryoga asked, getting excited to be on the courts.

"Ryuzaki Sakuno."

"Sakuno-chan, do you play tennis?" he asked again.

"Hai!"

"If I challenge you now would you accept?" Ryoga raised his brows.

Sakuno took a moment to decide what to do. Sure she hadn't played for three days and she was already itching to have a good match. She stood up and looked at a smirking Ryoga.

"I accept."

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Ryoma lazily walked to the benches surrounding the court. It was much like the courts where they play during the Regional's but this one's the only court for a mile. Everyone had gathered outside to see the match since it was interesting. (haler!)

They were both really good but Ryoga of course would be better, since he is already a pro. But it doesn't help that Sakuno is not an average tennis player, and that's what Ryoga would soon find out.

"Ganbatte, Sakuno-chan!" Eiji, Momo and Tomoka cheered.

"Thanks…I will…" Sakuno smiled at them but at the same time fidgeting with her hair. She forgot to bring her cap because she thought she won't need it. She was trying to tie her hair so that it won't fall to her face and cloud her vision. Then suddenly…

"Eh?" Sakuno groaned as she noticed a cap put on her head. She turned around to see Ryoma smirking at her.

"Anou…Ryoma-kun?" she looked at him questioningly.

"Can't you say anything else than my name?" Ryoma said.

"Yeah…thanks!" she smiled at him then adjusted the hat.

"Is it alright?" Sakuno turned back to Eiji, Momo and Tomoka.

"Yeah!" her best friend gave her a thumbs up, while Eiji and Momo was taken aback after seeing her with a cap.

"For a moment there I thought I saw…" Eiji scratched his head then pushed Momo who was about to voice out what was he thinking of.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0 **

"There's 90 percent chance that what you told me was true…the other 10 would be proven upon her performance in the match." Inui whispered to Ryoma.

"Hn."

Inui adjusted his glasses so that it glinted from the light, a grin on his face and a pen scratching like mad on his notebook.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0oo0o0o0o0**

**( laziness attack! )**

It was a nice match, really…Sakuno managed to exceed Ryoga's expectations. The match ended up in a 6-3, in favor of Ryoga, though he admitted it was a nice match and that she was better than most of his opponents in the tournaments.

"Arigatou…Ryoga-san." She bowed her head then smiled at him, sweat trickling down her forehead.

"I should be the one thankful! You proved yourself a match! Chibisuke sure knows how to pick!" Ryoga blurted out, an infamous smirk visible on his face. He turned to look for his brother and found him being glomped by Eiji and Momo who seemed too amused with Ryoga's remark.

Sakuno was blushing a little bit but she was giggling, because of how cute Ryoma was while he tried to get out of his senpai's grasp.

Ryoga and Sakuno got out of the courts where Sakuno was ambushed by an overly-happy best friend.

"Sakuno-chan! You're so great!" Tomoka hugged her.

"Not really…I still lost…" she smiled though.

"Nonsense…you did your best!"

She got cheers from the girls as well as Eiji and Momo. The other regulars nodded at her and signified that she did a great job.

"Arigatou, minna-san!" she bowed to them all and they clapped.

"I'm famished!" Ryoga shouted.

"Us too!" Hikaru and Kaoru said too.

"Let's go inside for some breakfast then…" Riko announced.

"Hai!"

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

They really did nothing that day. Though the girls suddenly locked themselves up in one room and forbade anyone to disturb them. It was around 7 in the evening.

"Okay gals, we're going to have a party tomorrow!" Riko announced. The other girls were either sitting on the floor or on the bed. They look like they are going to a slumber party though they're not in pajamas.

A loud cheer erupted in the room.

"What the heck are they doing up there?" Momo asked.

Momo shrugged while the others seem to not mind, though Inui seem to know something when he let out a grin.

"Do you know something you should tell us?" Eiji asked.

"Not for me to tell." He resumed back to lazing around the living room.

Back in the room.

"It's Ryoma's birthday tomorrow? I thought it was just Christmas Eve?" Miharu asked.

"It's also his birthday." Sakuno assured them.

"The let's have a double party!" the twins threw their hands up in the air, they liked the idea of two parties.

"Then it's settled, we'll have it going in the afternoon so we could set the place up." Kaori said, already writing it in her planner.

"I want to make the banners!" Tomoka volunteered.

"Yeah, me too!" Akari raised her hand.

"Then the rest would cook or either clean the house." Yui said.

"Hai!" everyone agreed.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

After dinner, Sakuno and Tomoka were assigned to clean up duties while the Seigaku regulars debated on who would go out and fetch some logs from the small cabin outside.

"I'm so tired! Could I just go to bed now?" Momo grumbled.

"Can't we just do it tomorrow morning? Nya!" Eiji said.

"_But it should be done now_." Fuji said as if urging them to do it.

"I'll do it." Taka volunteered.

"_No, Taka. Your not going to do that. You just fetched some last night. Someone else got to do it_." Fuji insisted then looked at Ryoma's way.

"Mada mada dane." Ryoma tilted his head down then looked away.

Seeing that the conversation would lead to nowhere, Tezuka spoke up, " I'll get it."

Everyone stopped muttering excuses and looked at their captain.

"No, let's decide this fairly." Inui said.

"Yeah. I know something that would do the trick." Fuji then presented an empty soda bottle and told everyone to form a circle.

"I hope it's no me." Eiji prayed.

"Fsssshh" Kaidoh hissed, though he also prayed that it won't be him.

Everyone tensed up as Fuji spun the bottle. After about 20 seconds, it stopped spinning and pointed at a seemingly nonchalant Ryoma who was drinking his Ponta innocently.

"You should get it, O'chibi!" Eiji bounced around the living room.

"Maybe we shouldn't let Ryoma get it. It's too dangerous for him outside." Oishi said.

"Nah! Echizen could handle it!" Momo tugged Ryoma, and seeing there's no point arguing and just get the job done, he nodded.

"Don't let your guard down." was Tezuka's advice.

Ryoma went got his jacket, went to the back door and made his way to the log cabin, which was a little distance away from the house. It was dark so he got a flashlight with him.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"Hey, Sakuno-chan! Are you finished with those?" Tomoka asked as she was wiping the table.

Sakuno was cleaning out the counters, checking if they still have supplies like matches and other things.

"Where is Ryoma-kun going at this time?" Sakuno asked, turning to her best friend with a match in hand.

"I heard he was going to get some logs at the small cabin we saw earlier." Tomoka said.

Sakuno thought for a minute then got her jacket then dashed out the back door.

"I'll help him." she ran out.

"But Sakuno! I-" her friend had already ran out and she saw no point in arguing with her. "Be safe!"

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0oo0o0o0o0**

"Ryoma-kun! Matte!" Sakuno ran towards Ryoma who had stopped once she called him.

"What is it, Ryuzaki?" he asked.

"Could I go with you?" she said.

Ryoma turned on his way and tilted his cap down, "Do as you wish."

"Hai!" she just followed closely behind.

After a minute, they were still walking, the tree branches blocking the snow from even reaching the ground so they had no difficulty in walking around.

"Ryoma-kun?" Sakuno called again, afraid that she might have lost him in the dark. She had little light to see where she's stepping but the glow from Ryoma's flashlight assured her that she could still follow him.

Ryoma just shrugged his shoulders and turned on a corner, then he heard the sound of earth giving away and the shouts of Sakuno.

"Ryoma-kun!" she shouted.

"Oh, great." He turned back on his steps to see a rather large hole in the ground. He dropped on his knees just near the edge. He aimed his flashlight downwards and searched for Sakuno. He found her sitting on the ground and sobbing, rubbing one of her ankles. It was a rather deep pit in the snow.

"Is there anything you could climb on to?" he asked her, worry slightly clawing on his thoughts.

"I can't see anything…" Sakuno tried not to stammer, it would be just too shameful that she already got herself into an accident.

"I'll get help. Don't move." He tried to get on his feet again but once he put pressure on the ground, it gave away too and he came crashing down.

"Ryoma-kun! Daijoubu?" Sakuno rushed to his side. She helped him sit up, but he quickly slapped her hands away.

"Eh?" Sakuno's face was that of confusion.

"Don't worry about me." He stood up and fixed himself. He then gave Sakuno a hand and hoisted her up.

"What do we do now?" she asked, looking around her.

Ryoma picked up the flashlight and showed it around. The only way out of where they are is a tunnel at their right.

"There's no point shouting here. Let's go this way." He grabbed her hand then walked.

"Anou…I could walk by myself."

"I can't risk losing you again." he said as they turned a corner and then they saw a faint light in the end of the tunnel.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Soon they saw themselves come out of the tunnel only to be greeted by the surprise that they just came out of the side of a mountain. They had to walk down a slightly inclined road so they could climb down, their house was nowhere in sight and the snow fall had become heavier.

While going down the mountain, Sakuno slipped on an ice and stumbled down.

"Are you alright?" Ryoma leaned down towards her and she blushed at his closeness.

"Yes I am…Sorry…" she said then yelped. She looked down at her foot. It was reddening. "I think I sprained my ankle…but don't worry…I could still walk."

"Ok." Ryoma stood up and waited for her to stand up.

Sakuno tried to stand up but fell down quickly, good thing Ryoma had caught before she fell face first on the ground.

"Look, I'll carry you. You can't walk and the others would kill me if your condition worsens." He picked her up and hoisted her on his back. Sakuno put her arms around his neck and they walked. She could feel heat from their closeness. She was getting comfortable but also sorry that she had been a burden to Ryoma at a time like this.

They walked for a little while before they saw a small abandoned cabin.

**To be continued…**

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

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**That took me long enough…Thanks for reading!**

**Ayan Nica...next week na uli! **


	16. Chapter 15: Countdown

**Hey there! It's me again and nobody else…I am having the greatest time of my life—eating graham cake while typing the story—anyway thanks for bothering to read what I always think of…alright! On with the chapter!**

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**Chapter 15: Countdown**

Ryoma looked up to find a small log cabin straight ahead. The snowfall had gotten heavier and he was beginning to worry about his companion and what his teammates would do when they are not back within the next hour.

"Ryoma-kun, let's stay there." Sakuno whispered since she was starting to get cold and she don't want to stay perched into Ryoma longer because it is really embarrassing.

Ryoma just nodded and trudged up the path. Once they were inside, he put down Sakuno in a stack of hay and found a pile of small logs on the far left corner. He already was thinking that it would be no use and he did not know how to make a fire on situations like this.

Sakuno saw the logs and went into thinking for a moment then her face lit up and her hands fumbled the pockets of her jacket. She finally found a match box and quickly gave it to Ryoma.

"Lucky, I forgot to put it down when I followed you." She smiled though she was embarrassed about the forgetting part.

_So she did catch some good luck when God showered it. _He reached for it and thanked her. She went into staring at the surroundings.

After some more awkward moments since they were alone…

"Does your foot still hurt?" he asked while putting more logs into the fire to keep it up.

"It's alright, Ryoma-kun! You don't need to worry about it." Sakuno flailed her hands trying to dismiss the topic.

Ryoma looked at her then walk to her side. "Let me look at it."

"I told you it's alright! It doesn't—," Sakuno was silenced when Ryoma looked at her, his face devoid of anymore emotion. She blushed then kept quiet.

He took off her shoe and twisted it slightly, she grimaced in pain.

"I'll get something." He tilted down his hat and went outside. Sakuno was a bit worried since he came out of the cabin. But after about 5 seconds, he came back with a handful of snow. He placed it on her injured feet and let it settle. Sakuno breathed out as she felt the pain subside slowly.

"There's a blizzard outside." Ryoma said.

"That's bad." Sakuno yawned.

Ryoma understood that she needed to have some rest so, "Go to sleep, you need the rest…I'll manage." He said.

Sakuno was hesitant at first but what Ryoma said was true and trusts him to manage on his own. She fell back down to the hay stack she was sitting on but sat up again when she saw the color of Ryoma's face. He was pale.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Are you having a fever?" she inquired.

"It's nothing…I don't get sick…just go back to sleep you're probably just tired." He looked away and put some logs into the fire again.

Sakuno did not believe. Before he could see what she's up to, she help up her hand on his forehead and the other to her own. She quickly took it down and retorted to Ryoma, "No you're not alright! You are going on a high temperature!"

Before Ryoma could answer her, he fell back to the haystack; he was sitting on beside Sakuno. She fell into panic.

"Oh no…what to do? What to do! Ryoma-kun! Don't die on me! Oh hell, I don't know hat to do!" she fidgeted around.

She looked around the place. There was nothing to help her. Ryoma needed something warm to keep him comfortable. She took off her jacket and placed it over him. She checked his temperature again and was disappointed when it was still rising. His eyes were closed and he was breathing heavily.

Sakuno tried to stand up but failed. She tried again but something held her back. Ryoma had his grip around her arm and he wouldn't let go.

"Don't try to stand Sakuno…you'll hurt yourself." He whispered.

Before she could protest that he needs help, he pulled her down to him and hugged her.

"Anou…Ryoma-kun! What are you doing?" she was shocked at the randomness of his action. It was out of his character and he won't most likely react like that. _He must be delirious…_she concluded. She just stayed where she is since Ryoma was hugging her tightly.

"Don't leave me…" he talked in his sleep.

"I'll never." she stared at his face then fell asleep.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Oishi was pacing around the living room in deep thought. Only a few more minutes and he would collapse from intense worry already.

"We should start searching for them now, nya!" Eiji wasn't excited because he was also really worried, especially about their dear little sweet Sakuno-chan.

"Calm down everyone." Tezuka ordered and everyone fell into silence.

"Do you think they are alright?" Momo asked.

."We should trust Ryoma that he would be safe and I know that he won't let anything happen to Sakuno, **especially** Sakuno." Fuji smiled wickedly at the thought.

"I'm worried about them…" Taka shrunk back to his seat.

"You shouldn't be." Fuji handed him a tennis racket and Taka shot up in the air.

"BBUUUURRNNNNNIIIINNNNG!!! I BET THEY ARE SAFE RIGHT NOW! WE SHOULDN'T WORRY ABOUT THEM! THAT'S THE REAL SEIGAKU SPIRIT, BABY!" he was wrestled down by Kaidoh and Momo before he wake the whole house.

"They are right. Ryoma is smart enough to know hat to do on timed like this. And there is a blizzard outside so we can't afford to loose anyone in the cold, because in case they are alright, which I deem true, they would be upset that Eiji was lost outside while searching for them." Inui said.

"Why is it me, nya?" Eiji pouted.

"Just an example." Inui said. "But they better be alright." He just doesn't want to be deemed not at all times correct.

_Sakuno-chan, where are you? _Tomoka sighed as she waited with the others.

**0o0o0oo0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Sakuno stirred in her sleep and opened her eyes. She was still in Ryoma's arms though he's still asleep. She checked him up and noticed that he had cooled down a bit. His breathing was normal again though there's a slight look of pain in his face. She noticed the small sliver of light coming through a crack in the wall and she knew that it was still dark outside. She looked at the watch she was wearing.

11:59 pm.

Sakuno came to a sudden realization. She remembered that it would be Ryoma's birthday the next day and the next day was approximately 30 seconds from then. She did not even bring him a gift or anything special to give to him.

11:59:58 pm.

Sakuno thought of something. Though she doubt it would be beyond the scope of her character.

12:00 MN

Sakuno leaned down to Ryoma and kissed him lightly in the cheeks. She still had her eyes closed.

"Otanjoubi Omedetou, Ryoma-kun." She greeted him, and was surprised that when she opened her eyes Ryoma was staring at her with a smirk on his face. Guilty.

Sakuno turned into a human red pepper. (I like that!)

"Thanks." He looked away as a blush escaped his features.

"I'm sorry, I did not mean to do that, I just…I-" Sakuno tried to explain but Ryoma just looked at her. "I'm sorry."

"You don't have to…It's just fine." _How long is it before my next birthday? _"Go back to sleep now."

"Hai!" though he had his back to her, she smiled at him and greeted him again. Ryoma nodded in acknowledgement and went to sleep. The snow had stopped falling but they didn't seem to notice.

**0o0o00o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"Ryuzaki….I know you're still awake." He said, turning on his other side to face her.

"What is it?" Sakuno looked at him but didn't know what to think of.

"Would you still go back to the team after the tennis club for the girls opens?" a random question from Ryoma.

"I guess n--,wait, what again?" she was buffled. _Had he known all along? _

"I already guessed who you are, and I could say you've done pretty well." he looked at her, "Would you come back?"

"Since when?" she asked, she knew Ryoma would get her question.

("Since chapter seven." Ryoma smirked the obvious.)—kill author for this…joke only…she's bored again you know…

"Since were trapped in that dusty warehouse."

"I don't know…I just like it here in the club but I hate having to deceive all of you…I guess I'll quit…"

_Not until I get another match from you…and I want it to be an official match. _They both thought.

"Hn." He shrugged then went back to sleep.

Sakuno was in deep thought. She had not been surprised, sad or anything that he found out about her. She did not even mind. Maybe it's because she's about to quit? Or maybe she just like him to much to care? Or it was just so obvious? Or just relieved that he was the first one to know? (Only the author knows.)—stop me!

**0o0o0o0o00o0o0oo0o0o0o0o0o00o0**

It was six in the morning and Gakuto was already chucked out of his warm bed by his doubles partner, Oshitari.

"Get up, it's morning. You've got some chores to do!" he was practically kicked out the bed and was forced to wake up. Oshitari sped out the room and joined the others in the living room downstairs. They had been there for some days (I lost track, sorry) and they were in Atobe's mountain villa. The whole team was invited and they were just practically doing…nothing.

"No what?" Gakuto rubbed his eyes and yawned. He almost tripped on the stairs on his way down.

Atobe, the silver pair, and Hiyoshi were not yet up, but Kabaji , Oshitari and Jiroh were already downstairs. But Gakuto thought that Jiroh doesn't count since he was asleep on the sofa and Gakuto wondered how he got there. Maybe he was just there since last night because no one bothered to take him to his room and just left him there. Or just that he sleep walked or something like that in the middle of the night, or—

Gakuto was rubbing the part of his head which had been hit by Oshitari.

"Your turn….get firewood or we'll freeze." He ordered.

Gakuto did not bother to protest and just followed. The sooner he get this done with the faster he could climb back to his bed. He ran outside and dashed to the log cabin just about a hundred meters from the house. It was behind some trees so it would not pull an eyesore on the greatness of the villa.

"He did not even said sorry." He slid the door open to the cabin and was shocked out of his wits that he let out a scream.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Ryoma and Sakuno awoke to find the whole Hyotei team peering down at the two of them.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

* * *

**That's finished so I think I would do my projects now…go bother me next Saturday. I'm going to read other stories**. **Thanks for reading! Please review! Flame me if you want!**


	17. Chapter 16: I just felt like it

**Hello! I'm here again! To help me relax myself…I'm writing fanfiction! Hey! We got this bothersome oral defense in research! I'm so beaten senseless by the thought of that! I'm so nervous! Anyway…whatever I do…time will always come to pass…so might as well be happy! Nikaella is a classmate of mine and about 16 hours from now, we have this oral defense in research in school (Nikaella and I are also groupmates!!) Wish me luck in my defense coz it is also my periodical test for the first quarter of the school year! **

* * *

**Chapter 16: I just felt like it**

* * *

Gakuto was busy thinking up of curses to put on Oshitari when he opened the door and absent-mindedly walked in then screamed the hell out. (was that OOC for Gakuto or what?)

Scary thoughts flooded his mind and he ran the hell out of there shouting bloody murder. Oshitari heard him and dashed out of the backdoor. He gave Gakuto a confused look because Gakuto had his hands in the air and was running to him at lightning speed.

"WWWAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!" he ran behind Oshitari and hid himself from no one.

"What the hell?" Oshitari pushed him away and Gakuto staggered to the ground. "Are you insane?"

"N-no! There a-are…in that log cabin…there are…oh my God I swear I did not do it!" Gakuto looked really terrified, whatever he found there must have been traumatic, Oshitari thought.

"You did not do what!?!" Oshitari asked, but since Gakuto could not talk, he decided to check the cabin himself.

"Ore-sama demands to know what's happening in here!" Atobe yawned while rubbing his eyes. He was still in his pajamas and the whole Hyotei team was behind him. All had just awoken.

Oshitari stopped in his tracks and looked back to give Atobe an answer when Gakuto started screaming. "Someone's in the log cabin!"

"What?" Atobe and the others looked at him as if Gakuto had told them he had seen Bigfoot.

"Wanna come?" Oshitari went back on his trail as Atobe and the others followed him.

"Get a hold of yourself, it's just nothing." Choutaro helped Gakuto up and went with him to the log cabin.

Oshitari peeked through the opened door and saw who it was.

"Wonder how they got here." He walked inside as the whole team walked in also. Everyone has a confused look on their faces.

"Ore-sama has nothing to do with this, but still, why are they sleeping in here?" Atobe said.

"They must have been lost." Shishido put his hands behind his back and smirked.

"Yeah…that must be. They must have been cold. Let's take them to the house!" Jiroh sat down and looked at the girl closely. "She looks familiar."

"She's their coach's granddaughter." Oshitari said.

"They aren't dead?" Gakuto asked.

"Of course not!" all the others snapped at him.

"Alright! Alright! Should we wake them up?" Hiyoshi looked down.

"There's no need." Jiroh stood up just as everyone saw Ryoma and Sakuno open their eyes slowly.

_Where am I? _Sakuno can't see clearly but she was also finding difficulty to move. She looked at her side and saw Ryoma yawning.

"Ryoma-kun!" Sakuno instantly sat up remembering the awkward state they were in. She cupped her face with her hands and tried to hide her red face. Ryoma sat up too and stretched, he gave Atobe a look then tilted down his cap.

"So…wouldn't you like to explain to Ore-sama why you are here?" Atobe eyed them carefully.

"Anou…Gomen ne…we did not mean to intrude in your property…etou…how did you get in here?" she looked up and looked like she was about to faint from embarrassment.

"Atobe's house is just a little way over there." Jiroh pointed while helping Sakuno stand up as Ryoma had already stood and was about to give Sakuno a helping hand when Jiroh did it. She thanked Jiroh and continued to explain to Atobe.

"Ore-sama understands! So Tezuka is here too…Ore-sama is going to give him a call now…" Atobe dashed out of the small log cabin, as the others followed him. Ryoma and Sakuno were the last ones in to walk out.

"Anou Ryoma-kun?" Sakuno said as they walked to Atobe's house.

"Hn?" he looked at her.

"Happy Birthday, Ryoma-kun!" she gave him a smile. Ryoma glanced at her and smirked.

"Thanks." He was smiling then though.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0 **

"How come you could call Tezuka? None of us even know his phone number!" Hiyoshi asked while in the living room with the others. Atobe was browsing over a small booklet.

"I figured that he would have that…of course only wealthy people buy a house in here." Oshitari said as if stating the obvious. Everyone tilted their head to the side, not quite catching on what he had said. Oshitari adjusted his glasses and explained.

"Only wealthy people could afford to have a house around here so they intend to socialize and throw parties. Since most of the time they know each other, they invite them over to their houses so it's just practical to have their phone numbers. That's it, huh?"

"Ohh…"

"Yeah, so here we go…" Atobe dialed the number he found and heard it ring. After three rings, it was picked up by Kaoru.

"Hello?"

"Ore-sama wishes to speak to Tezuka right this moment, please."

Kaoru already knew who is calling. It was the Atobe Keigo. The guy she had pissed off at a boring masquerade party not too long ago. Even just his voice, she could still remember him. She always found it funny to no reason known to her; it was just simply, funny.

"How did you come up with 'ore-sama'? Did your parents give you an awful name?" she started.

"What are you talking about? And what the-hey! You're that girl from the party! Yeah! I know you! And for the last time!" Atobe took a deep breath then began shouting on the phone.

"…You little witch! When will I make it clear to you to stop insulting my name or else I'll make your life a living hell! And if you ever tried to show your face to me, I'll make sure you're the one to cry and I'll make you so goddamned embarrassed you'll have no face to show to anybody ever again! Ore-sama always has the last laugh!" Atobe was so angry he had forgotten to use 'ore-sama' when pertaining to himself then he stopped for a second to draw in air when suddenly…

"Is that all you wanted to say?" it was a different voice…it was…Tezuka!

"Where did that wretched girl gone to?" Atobe felt a little pang of embarrassment.

"Who?" Tezuka asked.

"Never mind…Ore-sama called to tell you that he has your valuable teammate and his girlfriend in here. We will send them back shortly so there's no need to worry." There were slight disagreements heard from Sakuno and Ryoma.

"I see…I need to thank you for that…"

"Hah! No need! As ore-sama was saying-"

"There goes ore-sama again!" it was Kaoru again.

"You! Why are you intervening in my conversation? Don't you know how rude you are?" Atobe started flaming up again that Ryoma and the others decided to stay away from him and just pack into the kitchen were Sakuno was into cooking breakfast with Oshitari and Ootori.

"Look who's talking! Isn't it you who said those bad, bad words at poor Tezuka?" she tried to sound really really sad about it. She knew Atobe was going to start ranting about her, but just in time she saw Tezuka and gave him the phone, since it was his call anyway.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

After about an hour of yelling over the phone, it finally ended with Atobe mercilessly throwing the phone to the wall and leaving with his hands in his pockets, probably to stop himself from strangling anyone at close distance.

"I'm going back to sleep, don't disturb me." He ordered then disappear from the others sight.

"Geez…must have gotten on his nerves…" Gakuto remarked.

"Thanks for the meal…but could we go back to the house now?' Ryoma asked. The whole Hyotei team was sitting around the table eating their breakfast.

"Yes…but leave Sakuno-chan. She cooks really well! We're sure going to miss her!" Choutaro sighed, sure as hell what they've been eating for the past few days must have been…less well…

Sakuno did not know what to say.

"No." Ryoma argued, surely he has more…uhmmmm…reasons not to leave Sakuno with a bunch of…boys…and a total diva…

"Nah…just joking…we'll just wash the dishes then we'll all go! Right, guys?" Choutaro asked.

"Sure." Shishido agreed and so did the other guys since they are just so bored with nothing to do…a little walk might help…

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o00o0o0o0o0**

They all flooded out of the house as soon as they were done.

"Arigatou, senpai-tachi!" Sakuno, Ryoma just gave a slight nod.

"No, it's nothing…so shall we go?" Jiroh smiled, it's a wonder that he is wide awake now…then Atobe walked out the door too…everyone stared at him.

He looked away and scowled, "Don't ask."

"Ohhhh…" they started walking away from the house.

"He probably wants to see that girl." Gakuto whispered to Hiyoshi. Atobe was walking with Kabaji behind him.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"Hurry! They're going to be back any minute!" Miharu shouted, putting the cake in the table.

"We're almost done!" Tomoka yelled.

All the girls were busy putting up decorations and of course, the food.

"Hey! Don't do that!" Riko swatted Eiji's hand from touching the cake.

"But it's chocolate!" Eiji growled, "And you did not cook breakfast!"

"That would have to wait; besides, you would have regretted stuffing yourself during breakfast when you could have all day!" Miharu joined in.

"Hey, Yuna! Are those banners ready yet?" Kaori asked, she was pinning some mysterious little green some things at the exit to the veranda.

"Yeah! Already finished!" Yuna answered.

"Hey1 You could go in now! And don't touch anything!" Riko called the boys to come in. They had been practically kicked out of the house since morning.

"Mou…we can't let them do this to us! They're starving us!" Eiji plopped on the sofa, his energy plunctuating from being deprived of food.

"Where did that Echizen go?!? I bet he enjoyed his time alone with our Sakuno-chan!" Momo flared up.

"Now, now…don't think like that…" Oishi argued.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0oo0o0o0o0o0**

"Hey Hikaru! Let's invite the whole Rikkaidai team over!" Kaoru suggested and ran over to her twin.

"Alright…hand that over." Hikaru pointed to the little brown phone directory and browsed over the numbers.

"Ask Riko if we could accommodate them."

Kaoru ran over to Riko and begged through her puppy eyes. Finally, Riko agreed.

"Hikaru! Do it!" Kaoru shouted while Hikaru started dialing.

**0o0o0oo0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0oo0o0o0o0 **

"I can't believe we've walked that far last night!" Sakuno gasped while rubbing her tired legs.

"Hn." Ryoma don't want to answer, they were now a few meters close to the house.

"Could we rest here for a while? I'm so tired!" Gakuto complained.

"When we come back to school, remind me to give you 1000 laps." Oshitari warned him.

"What? I'm not tired! It's just a short distance!" Gakuto immediately stood up.

"Here we go." Choutaro rang up the door bell. The door was opened by Ryoga.

"Chibisuke! Sakuno-chan!" he caught a glimpse of his little brother and what he though to be his little brother's girlfriend.

Tezuka came out and greeted the Hyotei regulars. Riko came out and invited them all in.

"Wow…I wonder how this place is big enough!" Eiji wondered while he counted how many they are in the main hall of the house.

"I guess it's Happy Birthday, Echizen." Atobe smiled at Ryoma after seeing the large banners.

"Hn." Ryoma looked away as he noticed all eyes laid on his figure.

"BURNINGGGG!!!! LET THE PARTY GET STARTED BABY!!!!!" Taka shouted as confetti and party poppers filled the air.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"Oi! You're here!" Kaoru patted Atobe in the back. She did not expect to see him here.

"Good thing that you finally—huh? Aren't you that girl that Marui saved the other day?" Atobe forgot his anger for a second. She was wearing a mask when Atobe met her at the party and he did not expect to see her face resembled that girl.

"No, mr. ugly name" she smiled.

"What did I ever do to you?" Atobe remembered his anger and his wish to strangle the girl for the longest time. She had splashed him punch on HIS OWN BIRTHDAY PARTY!!! And for a reason that doesn't exist!

_You never bore me! _"I don't know…I just like talking to you!" she grinned wickedly.

"Really? What's the big idea of drowning me in punch?"

"I just felt like it…why?"

"YOU JUST FELT LIKE IT?!? HOW COME---" and they go on and go forth.

"Did she dump Atobe before?" Gakuto asked Oshitari.

"Must have been…" Oshitari just shrugged and look away from the scene.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"Sakuno-chan! We're so glad you're safe!" Tomoka ran to her best friend and gave her a hug.

"You gave us quite a fright, little girl." Riko smiled at her.

"I'm sorry…it's my fault Ryoma went missing too." She bowed her head.

"That's okay…at least you're here with us now." Yuna gave her a hug.

"Now, now…let's eat!" Akari announced and all digged in to the food.

The door bell rang. Hikaru ran to the door and let the Rikkaidai regulars in.

"Otanjoubi Omedetou, Echizen!" they all greeted cheerfully.

"Hn." Ryoma went for another can of Ponta, though happiness was scrawled across his face.

"Marui-kun!" Hikaru ran up to Marui and offered him cake. The other regulars were already at the table after Riko's invitation.

"Thanks…" Marui blushed a little then looked down.

"You don't like it?" she asked, feeling embarrassed that he might not like the cake she personally baked and decorated.

Marui looked at her and took a bite from the cake. "It tastes great!"

"Arigatou!" she smiled again.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Sakuno was looking out the veranda. She was alone in there, thinking about what happened earlier that day. The party had gone out and the Rikkaidai and Hyotei teams had already left. They had already cleaned up and were now taking a rest in the living room. She looked at the tennis courts. She sighed, remembering what happened earlier that seemed to stop the party for 1 whole minute.

_**Flashback**_

_"Sakuno-chan? Could you please get me a slice of cake from the table? I've got my hands full." Riko asked her._

_"Sure, Riko-san!" Sakuno went to the table and sliced some cake. After getting some, she went back to where Riko sat. She had passed by Miharu._

_"Oh…hi, Sakuno-chan!" she waved at Sakuno._

_Since Sakuno had already passed by, she looked back for a second to greet Miharu too but she had already crashed into someone. She dropped the cake and also accidentally stepped on it. She slipped but was caught. She opened her eyes and found Ryoma's face just inches away from hers. She blushed. Ryoma had his left arm around her waist while his other hand supported her head, keeping her from hitting the floor._

_"Ryoma-kun!" she struggled from his grasp resulting in Ryoma, who had not expected her to move so suddenly, stepping into the cake and slipped._

_Everyone in the room fell silent as the two hit the ground. She closed her eyes and anticipated the cold wooden floor, but instead she fell on a warm body._

_She opened her eyes to the shock of her life. She was on top of Ryoma, and she was kissing him. Ryoma just gave her that blank look, seeing he can't do anything with Sakuno on top of him, he had switched their places so she won't get hurt but he had not expected this._

_Sakuno immediately pulled away when she got out of her dazed state due to wolf whistles from Eiji and Momo._

_"I'm sorry…" she blushed and kept herself from crying._

_"Ryoma helped her stand up and tilted his cap. "Betzuni…" he walked away from her and went outside._

_**End of flashback**_

She felt heat rush to her face as she remembered that. It was so embarrassing.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0oo0o0o0o0o0**

Ryoma had just remembered what happened earlier and he just can't help but…smirk? Yeah, he's smirking.

He just saw Sakuno walk out of the room and into the terrace.

He decided to follow her.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o00o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Sakuno was wallowing in her embarrassment and tried not to cry.

"Shouldn't you be wearing a jacket when you go outside at a place like this?" she turned to see Ryoma leaning beside the door and sipping his Ponta calmly.

Sakuno shivered when the coldness finally reached her.

Ryoma walked to her and gave her the jacket he's wearing.

"Anou…Ryoma-kun…you'll get cold." She tried to get the jacket off her shoulders.

"If you're afraid of that shouldn't we be going inside now?" Ryoma said to her.

"You're right." They started to go back inside. They were at the door when everyone in the sofa looked at their direction. Confused, the two stopped in the door and asked them.

"What now?" Ryoma asked Eiji, who was giggling. Since he can't answer, he turned to Riko and she pointed it out. Hanging above the door was a mistletoe.

_Oh crap…why do they bother me about a stupid leaf hanging by the door?_ Ryoma walked in and didn't mind the stares he got and the fits of laughter from Eiji, Momo, Riko and Ryoga.

Since Sakuno was looking at Tomoka when Riko had pointed out the mistletoe, she did not see it and was puzzled when Eiji had laughed when she walked in.

**0oo0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

**It's finished! How I did not get you disappointed. Please Review!**


	18. Clearing things up

**Due to many reviewers saying that they are confused with the OCs I had put up….here they are:**

**Akari **– classmate, neighbor and best friend of Fuji

**Yui **– her father owns the book store across the street from the Kawamura SushiRestaurant so when Yui helped out in their family business, she also became friends with Taka.

**Riko – **childhood friend of Eiji, she's rich (yeah, I won't deny that she's a sue but I like her)

**Yumi **– she lives right across the street from Kaidoh

**Miharu **– a friend of Tezuka who he might like

**Kaori **–she was a classmate of Inui before she moved to Osaka, but she came back to Tokyo because she won a scholarship grant from Hyotei

**Yuna **– friend of Oishi who was sick so Oishi visits her most of the time until she got well

**Kaoru **– adopted sister of Riko, she and her twin Hikaru is into new gadgets and techie things.

I didn't know there were 8 OCs…I thought there were more…

Sorry if this is not really a chapter but I'm going to upload the true chapter next week since I don't have enough time…and thank you for keeping up with my story even if it got off-tangent…hehe…God, I really appreciate you guys…

About this fanfiction, My Game, Your World, when Kaoru-chan and I started this, actually it was very funny since it was just a misunderstanding on her part (I was telling her the story "Princess of Tennis" by Faraway, she thought that Sakuno was disguising as a boy, maybe there was something wrong with the way I relented the fanfic) and then this fanfic was born! Yehey!

Actually we were planning to finish this on our school notebooks but since I started typing this story the notebook can't keep up so I just typed away in the computer.

Although I know some of you are not interested on how this story started and why I bother to tell it…it's just because…Five more chapters and this story would be completed…and it's going to be somewhat a tragedy because a character that everybody loves would die.

I'm really planning a sequel to this fanfic but still I'm gathering opinions if I should post it…because it would be oh so dramatic but funny on my part. Send me a review so I'll know if I should continue or what. But it's not like it matters anyway…


	19. Chapter 17: Lapses in Time

**Sorry for the late update…**

* * *

**Chapter 17: Lapses in Time**

Sakuno woke up early to prepare breakfast. She had arrived back home yesterday from her vacation in the mountains. Today is New Year's Eve so she hurried to make breakfast for her grandmother and go shopping for groceries so she could cook for tonight.

After leaving a note for her grandma to have breakfast without her, she set out to go to the supermarket. When she arrived in town, she instantly noticed that it was so crowded and noisy that she began to feel quite dizzy trying to find her way to the supermarket.

"Oh no…what direction was that again? I'm sure it was this way, but that figurine store was there so I should go left, no wait, is it to the right? Oh…this is not working…" she groaned and fell to her feet. She was murmuring babbles and other stuff like 'if I go over there, I might get lost' or 'I should go to a police officer and ask for directions…no….I don't even know where the station is…'

She then felt someone tapping on her shoulder and she looked up to say to whoever it was that they were being rude and they shouldn't do that to people they don't know but she shut her mouth when she saw Ryoma peering down at her, a grape Ponta in hand, and a look that says 'You look stupid' whatever that looks like.

"Ano…Ryoma-kun…what do you want?" she asked, still sitting on the ground.

"You are causing a commotion on the streets…" he told her. Sakuno looked around her and saw people staring at her. She was in the middle of a four-way intersection and the traffic wasn't moving because of her. She turned red and started saying sorry to everyone. She ran out of the way and to her relief, Ryoma was still by her side.

"That was the most embarrassing thing I've done in my whole life!" she said. She did not know that she was in the middle of crossing the street when she started looking around and doubting her location.

"You're lost on your way to the supermarket, aren't you?" he asked.

"How did you know?"

"You're carrying a basket and you just sat in the middle of the intersection about to cry."

"I'm not about to cry, I'm just thinking what I should do…" she reasoned.

"I'll take you to the supermarket if you want…"

"Really? Thank you thank you thank you! You don't know how happy I am that you've seen me..."

"Everyone in the streets practically noticed you…"

"Stop it…I want to forget that because I'll never live with that."

They walked side by side to the supermarket. Once they got there, Sakuno told Ryoma that she could manage to go back home on her own, but Ryoma, who just can't put enough trust in her words, decided to go with her until she was safe at home. The coach would blame him if she knew that he left her granddaughter in a cold dark town, lost. So they went through the shopping together and when Sakuno had enough items so she could prepare something special for her grandmother, she paid for the items and went out of the supermarket.

They were walking home, Ryoma was carrying her groceries since that was what gentlemen was supposed to do, when Sakuno spoke.

"Thank you for helping me with the groceries, Ryoma-kun…" she smiled at him.

Ryoma tried to hide the smirk trying to creep on his lips because Sakuno might think that he's underestimating her. He just like it that Sakuno's happy with whatever he's done.

They were in front of Sakuno's house when Ryoma refused her invitation to have some tea inside.

"Thanks."

"Betzuni."

"Be careful on your way home."

"I will." _Why does she have to be so beautiful when she says that? She's not practically helping me at all! _He thought as he looked back at Sakuno then immediately stomped away from the place.

"What's with him?" Sakuno asked herself when Ryoma stomped away. _Did I offend him?_

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

The rest of vacation was just a memory for Sakuno as she finds herself back in the courts and having a match with a non-regular like her. Still, she was clad in boy's attire and being called Minagawa by the other club members cheering outside the fences. He finished the match in no time because Inui just filled a cup of strange orange liquid outside the fences. Minagawa let out a sigh of relief when she managed to avoid drinking poison that day.

"Minagawa improved today, nya?" Eiji said.

"Yeah…he'll be a regular next year…Echizen?" Inui called.

"Hn." He walked away to get some Ponta.

"Eiji! Oishi! Get on the courts! Momo! Kaidoh! Get moving!" Tezuka ordered. Their going to have a doubles match.

Minagawa went to see the game since he had nothing more to do. He stood beside their temporary assistant coach, Ryoga Echizen, who never stopped annoying his little brother. Ryoga had agreed to the coach's proposal to assist in the training while he's still on vacation in Japan. He was very excited to coach; especially he could annoy Ryoma even when he's not at home. For him, it's a rare opportunity.

"I see you play really well. Play with Ryoma after this match." Ryoga said to Minagawa.

Minagawa suddenly brightened up and was instantly filled with excitement. "Sure!"

Ryoma came back and noticed Minagawa among the regulars. He went to them and watched the others in their play.

"Oi! Chibisuke! You're playing next!!!"

"Hai…" he said lazily and took another sip.

"Seems like you're up against Minagawa again, Echizen." Fuji said.

"Oh really…" he tried to hide his joy and excitement. Inui was discussing some things with Ryoga so he could not give his usual data remarks.

The Golden pair won again as Kaidoh and Momo groaned in defeat but still it was not so bad after all.

Ryoma and Minagawa went inside the courts and got ready. All activities in the club stopped just to watch two of the youngest (and shortest) players play all out in the courts.

There were students watching outside each side of the fence and it was so noisy with cheers.

"Hoi! Hoi! Go Ochibis!"

"BURNINNNNNGGG!!!!! GET ON WITH THE GAME ALREADY, BABY!"

"Come down from that fence, Eiji, you might fall! And it's just a tennis match, no need to overreact!"

"Saa, it might be more than that." Fuji had come back from the club room and he was holding his camera.

"Why are they so riled up with these two?" Ryoga asked Inui.

"You'll see…" he grinned, holding up a glass of blue liquid up in the air so Minagawa and Ryoma could see it. The two looked really frightened at the sight.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"Minagawa vs. Echizen! Minagawa to serve!"

And the game started. Ryoma got ready to return the serve.

_I'll do my best…_ Minagawa thought.

He just did a normal serve so Ryoma returned it easily. The ball went to the other side of Minagawa's court so he had to make a run for it and still he managed to make a return.

"They're really going on it, nya?"

"I wonder what would happen next." Fuji smiled, his fingers itching to take memorable pictures.

The first set was won by Minagawa. It would be Ryoma's turn to serve now.

"Ryoma served. It spun in place when it bounced on his opponent's side. The ball went straight towards Minagawa's face much faster than Ryoma's past Twist Serves so all he could do is shield his face with his racket which ended up in getting off-balanced and being knocked to the ground.

"Echizen is really taking it too hard." Momo said.

"The speed of his Twist Serve increased by 40...Ii Data."

"How exactly did you measure that?" Fuji's smile was so sinister it creeps to the bone.

Inui looked at him without speaking then back to the game. "It's all in the data." was all he said.

"Oh….okay…I believe you…" Fuji took his focus back to the game. In a short space of time, about ten minutes, Ryoma had won the second set.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

MInagawa was sweating by the end of the 7th set, 3-4, in favor of Ryoma. Though he could also see that he is a challenge to Ryoma, he still can't wipe the smirk off his opponent's face. _Even if I will only lose this game, I'll make sure you have a hard time beating me._

Ryoma looked at his opponent. It was his service game again and he was planning to win the next game so he's be ahead by two points and one point closer to win.

Unfortunately, Minagawa won the set which ties up their scores.

In the ninth set, Minagawa first took a deep breath then adjusted his footing and much to everyone's amazement, it was a Twist Serve but it curved in an abnormal way that Ryoma just watched as it sped a few inches away from his face. The spectators around the courts all went silent.

"Hey! That's Echizen's twist Serve Tornado!" Momo gasped.

"Ii Data." Inui was scribbling like mad on his notebook again.

"He's proven himself many times now Tezuka…" Fuji said.

The crowd's cheers went louder this time.

Though Ryoma himself was surprised slightly, he still kept on his super cute, adorable and courage-depleting smirk on his handsome face. (hehe…GODDAMNIT!), especially since he won the set making the scores 4-5, in favor of him.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Minagawa just stood in place to bask in his defeat. The cheers were louder than any other part of the match, which Ryoma had won. He looked at the other side of the court to see Ryoma staring at him, point out his racket at him and say "Mada mada dane." And then he remembered, he's still drinking that horrible juice and that made him sadder from his defeat.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

It was not cruel, he thought, to say those words to his opponent. Ryoma knows what really lies beneath that hat and that made him clear his thoughts out.

He was happy that he beat up his opponent, because the last time they played, they reached a tie-break but was cut-off by the coach because of some emergency meeting. Now, he won for real and he was satisfied, for he knows that Minagawa's playing ability is already near his own level.

Then much to his surprise, his opponent still smiled at him: that was a first. His wits had gone and he ran up to Sakuno.

What happened next made jaws drop around the court.

"Should I be happy or should I panic and worry?" Eiji and Momo asked, not wanting to believe what they were seeing.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

* * *

**Cliffhanger too much again?**

**Okay that's it…next week would be the continuation! Please leave a review before you go…And about the someone's dying part…whoever that character is, he/she will affect the whole story on the sequel so better get ready…**

**I'm planning on doing a (My Game, Your World: In between) that is composed on oneshots about the couples I made and how they were like before the sequel would start…some might get married or some might not work…**


	20. Chapter 18: Hidden between the lines

**Hello again, minna-san…This is the fourth to the last chapter of my story…so hope you guys enjoy! It's a tad bit too long…This is dedicated to Nikaella na walang sawa kong kinukulit araw-araw! Owwwsssss...Niculots!**

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**Chapter 18: Between the lines**

Without really thinking about a hundred pair of eyes watching every movement in the court, Ryoma ran to Minagawa and hugged him tight: that was what the sempai-tachi had thought he had done. They were shocked and slightly awed at the display before their eyes that their mouths were open and no one uttered a sound. Wouldn't you find it weird that your cool little tennis genius suddenly hugged his opponent who, by the way, is a boy? Well, not for Ryoma.

For Ryoma, all he thought about while in the match is that he was facing another somehow worthy opponent. But when he had won he had thought that behind those boy's clothes, a beautiful girl stands before him, ready to face him. When he had won, all he had seen afterwards was Sakuno, just Sakuno.

Now as he hugs her close to him, he did not notice the absence of the cheers and the tiredness he had felt earlier, but he was very confused with what he was supposed to do next. After all, he had started it without really planning on it, impulse he guessed, so what now?

For Sakuno, she felt every muscle in her body tense at the moment he hugged her. She felt like if he would suddenly break away, she would fall to the ground without the support. And then to her dismay, her eyes began to sting. She felt hot tears flow through her cheeks as she suddenly had the urge to cry. And for the first time, she experienced crying not because someone had pained her, but because someone made her really happy.

"Mada mada dane, Sakuno." he murmured. _I love you…_

She smiled, getting the message he had hidden between his words. "I love you too, Ryoma-kun."

He looked at her then kissed her lightly in the lips. He tipped her hat off so her hair fell down to her shoulders. Sakuno, a bit intrigued why he had taken off her hat, tried to ask but Ryoma had answered her by, "I bet the others thought we are gay."

"That was your fault." She giggled.

**0o0o0o0o0oo0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o **

After a lot of explaining, though Inui helped out, Sakuno was eventually forgiven.

"Who could be angry at a girl like you? Anyway, I'm glad that you joined the tennis team, you'll do good in the girl's tennis club, Coach said it would be officially open on Friday?" Fuji said. She just got an assuring look from Tezuka. (whatever that may look like)

"Hai…Arigatou, Sempai-tachi!" she began to cry again.

"Ah! No! Don't cry! Ryoma would kill us, Sakuno-chan!" Momo was going to hug her to say that it was okay but he got a glare, a really deadly glare, from Ryoma and he backed off.

"Sakuno-chan is now O-chibi's girlfriend! I'm so happy!" Eiji gave Sakuno ad Ryoma a bear hug which only Sakuno was happy for. Ryoma, however, just tried to wrestle free from his grasp.

"Sakuno-chan, you could have free meals at our Sushi Restaurant when you guys want to eat, at anytime. That is if you want my cook-" Fuji handed him a racket "BURNINNNGGGG!!!! I'LL MAKE VERY DELICIOUS SUSHI FOR EVRYONE!!!! IT'S ON THE HOUSE, BABY!!!"

"Maybe I should get a girlfriend so we could eat for free anytime in Taka's Sushi Restaurant." Momo said.

"Me too, I wanna eat sushi for free, nya!" Eiji frowned. He doesn't even remember any girl he could possibly hook up with. Except for Riko, by the way. Here she comes.

"What did I miss?" she asked Eiji.

"All the fun in the world. O'chibi and Sakuno-chan are married!"

"What?!? Sakuno-chan?" Really? Really? Really?"

Sakuno did not really know what to say so she just nodded.

Riko smiled and hugged her as if she was a soft bear. "I'm so happy for you! Though you got a boyfriend before I did! But that's okay!"

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0 **

"You know what? For a moment there, I really thought you turned out gay…You almost frightened me out of my wits…good thing it turned out to be Sakuno-chan…" Momo relayed to his best buddy, Ryoma.

"Hn." Like he cares anyway.

They were all in the Kawamura Sushi Restaurant and because the restaurant had good business that day, Taka's father decided to treat the regulars to another free eat-all-you-can Sushi. Of course, you can't expect our favorite team to turn down such a generous offer.

"Sakuno-chan, do you want to be a pro tennis player?" Fuji asked out of the blue. By the way, true to his beliefs, something really special happened that day, so his camera had captured all those special moments too!

Sakuno thought for a moment then looked at Ryoma, who was sitting beside her. "It's a little bit too early to answer that so I might change my mind later on, but I'm not planning on becoming a pro-tennis player…I want to be a singer."

"Good for you Sakuno-chan! As for me, I wanna be a vet! So I could treat those poor animals' sicknesses!" Eiji excitedly shared.

Then all of them shared what they want to be when they graduate.

"Hm…let's see…I wanna have my own burger joint! So I could eat burgers and earn money from selling them!" that was Momo.

"I'll be the no.1 tennis player in the whole world…" Ryoma said, pretty sure that he'll accomplish that. _Then I will beat the hell out of that old man…that'll show him after all these years of laughing at me…_

"I'll pursue my dream to become a doctor so I could take care of other people in their time of need!" Oishi said.

"I'm going to be a professional photographer some day, and after I earn enough money, I'll publish my own series of magazines! Watch out for that, guys…" Fuji said.

"Me?" It was Taka's turn, "I'm still undeci-" Momo handed him a racket from under the table, "You asking me? BURNINNNNGGG!!!! I'M GOING TO BE THE BEST SUSHI CHEF IN THE WORLD, BABY!!!" after that, Momo and Eiji wrestled him down from the table.

"Like I'll tell you what I want to be…" Kaidoh hissed.

"Come on, Mamushi! Or you're the only one who's still undecided?" momo teased.

"What? No! I'll be a teacher!" he suddenly answered then went red in the face.

Even Momo shut up after that. "Say that again?"

"I want to be a teacher, are you deaf or what?" Kaidoh shouted.

Momo and Eiji looked at each other then started cheering for Kaidoh. "Wow! I never thought you want to influence young kids! That was a very good thing for you, Mamushi!"

"I'll have my kids trained under you, nya!"

"Shut up…"

"So who's next?" Eiji asked.

"Inui." Fuji answered.

Inui's eyeglasses shone at them then he said, "I'll continue my research until I make the most powerful Inui special juice."

Everyone shivered at the thought, well, except Tezuka and Fuji again.

"I could be your guinea pig, Inui…just give me a call if you want to test it on someone!" Fuji smiled.

"I'll remember that…"

"So, buchou, what are you planning to do after college?" Sakuno asked.

Everyone shut their mouths to listen to what Tezuka had to say. "I'll coach the future Seigaku tennis club members." He said.

"I'll help you with that." Inui grinned.

"He'll make those kids' life a living hell, I knew it." Momo whispered to Ryoma and Eiji.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Later that evening, they all bid goodbye to each other and left the restaurant. Since Sakuno is mainly Ryoma's responsibility now, he walked her home. When they about to cross the street, a car sped towards them, fortunately, Ryoma managed to pull Sakuno off the street. She managed to escape being hit by the car by a few inches. That was very lucky for them but not for the driver of the car. The car crashed into a building and there was panic in the streets. Sakuno cried at the scene that had unfolded before her eyes.

"Why are you crying?" Ryoma asked her as he led her out of that place.

"I don't know…I just…I just…suddenly feared death…I'm scared…I almost died in there!" she was trembling with fear that Ryoma offered to carry her on his back, since she might faint.

"But nobody's going to harm you…I'm still be here by then you know…" he smiled gently at her. That seemed to ease her tears a bit.

"Ne, Ryoma-kun, what would you do if I got hit by that car?" she asked.

Ryoma stopped walking for a second before resuming to walk.

"Actually, I really don't know what I would have done by then…Don't ask that again." he said. _I probably beat the hell out of that man…even if he's dead already._

"Ne, Ryoma-kun, last question."

"What?"

"If I die, what would you do?"

"If you die, what would I do? What do you want me to do?" he asked, confused. _Why is she so interested in death anyway_? "I'll live for the both of us."

Sakuno adjusted her position on his back so she could she his face. "How could you live for the both of us, Ryoma-kun? Would you still love me by then?"

"Hn." He just smirked at her.

"Ne, what kind of answer was that? I wanna know."

"No…because you're not going anywhere…and why are you asking things like you're going to die?"

"I don't know, Ryoma-kun…I just want to know how you'll feel…"

"And about that last part…what makes you think I won't love you by then?

"Anou…because I'm dead?"

"Here we are." he let her down when they were in front of Sakuno's house.

"Arigatou, Ryoma-kun." She said. She then went to her door after bidding him 'goodnight'.

"Anou…Sakuno?" he called.

"What is it, Ryoma-kun?" she turned around just to be kissed by Ryoma in the lips when he just intended to kiss her in the cheeks.

They were both red in the face when they saw Coach Ryuzaki standing in the doorway.

"Obaa-chan!"

"Che.'

"So you're now kissing my granddaughter, young man? How do you explain that?' she pinched Ryoma in the ear.

"Ittai…" he rubbed his ear when she let go.

"Obaa-chan…Ryoma is now…Ryoma is now my…my…"

"Very special friend?" Coach Ryuzaki answered.

"Y-yeah…like that…"

"Sakuno…will you look over what I was cooking…it might burn…" she said to Sakuno. Sakuno gave Ryoma a smile then walked inside the house to tend to the kitchen.

"Now…do you really love my Sakuno?"

"Yes, of course…" he said.

"Good…because if I ever see Sakuno cry because of you, you'll really get it me from me and no one else…understand?" she warned.

"Geez….It's not like I'm marrying her tomorrow…"

"Yes…but Sakuno is my only granddaughter so I expect that you take care of her…"

"I know…"

"Good…now would you like to stay for dinner, Ryoma?"

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

**6 years later**

"Sakuno-chan! You're very pretty! Ryoma would flip when he sees you!" Tomoka said to her best friend as she showed her a mirror. After six years, Sakuno is now Japan's most famous singers. Her best friend, Tomoka, is her manager since she volunteered to be and Sakuno trusted her the most. And even if she's always busy, they could still be together. That night, Ryoma and Sakuno have one of their rare dates since their both busy with their careers. He had told her that they were going to a formal restaurant that night, so it must be special.

Outside her house, two cars parked down in the garage. Ryoma had arrived with his best friend Momo. He doesn't want Momo but he just can't gather the courage to go alone so he persuaded him to come along. They came out and was now standing in front of Sakuno's doorway.

"So are you ready?" Momo asked, trying so hard to hide his laughter.

"I think I'll screw this up." Ryoma said, looking at the small velvet box in his hand which contains a diamond ring he had searched all Europe for.

"Oh…Look at Echizen Ryoma, the guy who won 4 consecutive Grand Slam championships at the age of 18 but he can't propose to his girl…Why the hell did you even drag me here for?" Momo teased.

"Shut up, Momo…"

"Then I'll take a look at her hand tomorrow….Someone else's ring might be there…"

"I said stop it…"

"Hey! I'm trying to help here…just get on with it! I want to go home now…Ann is alone at home, you know."

"Alright….here we go…" he reached for the door bell but Momo stopped him.

"You forgot what I told you! Where's the flowers?"

"I left them in the car…what are they for anyway?"

Without warning, Momo hit Echizen in the head. "You're really going down tonight."

"Alright, I'll get it." He went to his car and back to the doorway.

"Now, what do I do?" he asked.

"Wait…" Momo looked at Ryoma's suit and gave him a thumbs up. "You're ready…You did not forget what we taught you earlier, right?"

"Right."

"Now don't be nervous, okay?"

"Okay."

"It's your night, don't screw it up, okay?"

"I can't do this."

Momo got pissed off so he just rang the doorbell so that the night would be over earlier. The door opened to reveal,

"Sakuno, you look beautiful tonight!" Ryoma shoved the flowers to Sakuno without really looking. Momo was rolling on the ground, laughing. Ryoma looked at him and to what he was pointing at. Standing at the door was Coach Ryuzaki, with flower petals entangled in her hair.

"Ryuzaki-sensei…I-I…gomen…" Ryoma looked down.

"Sorry, coach…he's really nervous…You know…" Momo said between tears.

"I'll let you off this time…" Ryuzaki-sensei smiled at him, "Good luck, kid!" she gave her a pat in the back. "I'll come get her…" she walked upstairs to where Sakuno is with her best friend is.

"Sakuno…" she knocked on the door which was eventually opened by an over-excited Tomoka. "Ryoma's downstairs waiting…"

This was followed by a giggle from Tomoka and Sakuno emerged from her room, Wearing a black tube gown that reached her knees. Her hair was twisted into a bun by black colored chopsticks with little diamonds dangling from them. She was wearing a two inch strap sandals in her feet. She was stunning.

"Quick, quick…I wanna see Ryoma's reaction on my work." They hurried to the door.

Ryoma had been given last minute advices by Momo when he heard footsteps coming their way. He saw Sakuno walking towards them. He couldn't fathom how lucky he had been since that fateful tennis match six years ago. Many had changed and all had been for the better.

"You're always beautiful, Sakuno." He said.

"Thanks."

He offered his hand, "Let's go."

She smiled at him and took it. "Obaa-chan, I'll see you later…" she then gave Tomoka a hug before she went out. Momo, Ryuzaki-sensei and Tomoka watched as Ryoma helped Sakuno into his car and they drove away.

"Great…now I can go home…bye coach! Bye Tomoka!" Momo also followed suit.

"Well…it's still early but I'm bushed…wanna have dinner with me, obaa-chan?" Tomoka asked.

"Sure."

**0o0oo0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0oo0o0o0o0o0o**

_It's now or never…_Ryoma thought as he told Sakuno, "Sakuno, I've been meaning to tell you this all night…might as well do it now…" as he stood from his seat and knelt on one knee before Sakuno, he showed her the ring he had previously in a blue velvet box. "Let's get married, Sakuno." He said, slipping the ring in her hand.

With that Sakuno bursts into tears, "Of course Ryoma-kun, I'll marry you…though I suppose you told me rather than ask me to marry you."

"Sorry…I just don't know how these things work." He said. Then he kissed her to the wild cheering and applause by the other patrons in the restaurant. There were camera flashes as Sakuno showed to the public the ring Ryoma had given her.

"Hey, O'chibi! Congratulations! When are you two going to get married?"

The two looked up to see Eiji and Riko come into view. They had forgotten that it Riko owned the restaurant they were in, and as for Eiji, maybe they were dating now or they are still telling everybody that they are just best friends.

"Hey guys! Don't let me out of the fun!" Momo suddenly came up to the group with his wife, Ann.

"The rest are in there! Wanna go, Sakuno?" Riko invited.

"Sure!" she answered excitedly, grabbing Ryoma's hand in the process. "Come now, Ryoma!"

"Hey! We still haven't got our food yet." He reasoned, wanting to have to eat alone with Sakuno.

"Don't worry, I'll have them served in there! She pointed to one of the rooms used for private parties.

"I guess so." Ryoma reluctantly had himself dragged by Sakuno and Riko into the room.

When they entered, Sakuno rushed to greet the people in there, taking Ryoma with her. She went first to where the ex-Seigaku regulars were seated. There were Tezuka, Fuji, Inui, Oishi, and Kaidoh while Taka had been given permission to make some sushi in the kitchens so he wasn't there at the moment.

At the next table, her friends were present. There were Miharu, Yuna, Akari, Yui, Kaori, Yumi and the twins, Hikaru and Kaoru.

"Congratulations, Sakuno!"

"Hey Ryoma, why the smug look?"

"Cheer up, Ryoma, you're going to get married."

"Aw…Let us help you with the wedding, Sakuno-chan!" Riko and all the girls present volunteered.

"Thanks guys…I'm glad you will…" she said.

"As of now, I'll hire myself as the photographer in your wedding, Ryoma. Want me to start now?" Fuji teased.

"Do as you wish, Fuji-sempai." Ryoma just smirked.

"Wanna have some wine, Ryoma?" Inui offered.

Ryoma looked at his face for a second and then at the drink he was offering him. "No thanks, Inui-sempai…I'd rather have one after I finish eating."

"Not me…I wanna have some!" Fuji raised his hand.

"Okay." Inui said as he took out his notebook to start gathering data.

"So I was telling you Oishi, that medicine really works. I think it should be used more often." Eiji told Oishi.

"Eiji, you're a vet and I'm a doctor, on humans by the way…so talking about medical stuff now is not so…good, I think…" Oishi said.

"Sorry, Oishi, I love my work so much…and my clinic is always full so I think about it everyday."

"That's okay…I understand…me too…this is the only break I got for this week."

"Hey, Tezuka…could you let Kairi go home a little more early? His grades aren't looking very good now…" Kaidoh said.

"Don't worry…I caught yesterday in the arcades so his grades will improve now." Tezuka told him. "But don't let your guard down."

"Here comes the food guys!" Taka announced while emerging from the kitchen. He had been the youngest, most sought after Sushi maker in Japan so all the people in the room were happy that he had cooked for them, and for free.. "Here is to the newly engaged, Ryoma and Sakuno! May you never go without food for long!" Taka said.

The waiters loaded the tables with different kinds of food and the feast began.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0oo0o0o0o0**

**Hope you enjoyed that! And don't forget to live a review!!! Thanks for having the time to read!!!!**


	21. Chapter 19: The worst nightmare

**Hello! Now I present you with the chapter that is 3****rd**** to the last! Hope you enjoy…but I bet you wouldn't.**

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**Chapter 19: The worst nightmare**

It was almost Christmas time that day, and for Momo, he was very happy. Two hours earlier, his wife, Ann, just gave birth to a healthy baby boy. The proud new daddy, Momo, practically leaped for joy when the nurses agreed to show them their new son.

"Oh I'm so happy for you, Ann!" Sakuno hugged the still groggy Ann.

"Thanks, but I bet it's time you have your own…" Ann teased.

Sakuno blushed at the comment. She had been married to Ryoma for three months, and well, things had already happened, but the best part, for Sakuno, was that Ryoma took the time to buy her a nice quiet villa near the outskirts of the city where she could be far away from the maddening crowd. Basically, they both want some peace and quiet and not paparazzi spying down your house at three o' clock in the morning.

And speaking of her husband, why isn't Ryoma here yet? Haven't she told him that Ann had given birth that afternoon. She looked out the window and saw snow falling gently falling.

"Isn't it nice to be born in a snowy day?" Sakuno said to the sleeping baby.

"We haven't thought of a name yet. Wanna suggest?" Momo said.

"Sure!" she thought for a moment before she said, "How about Yuki? I like that name…"

"I like that name too…do you like it Momo?" Ann told her husband.

"Why not?"

"I'm so happy…I think Ryoma should be here. Wait a minute, I'll just go out and give him a call." Sakuno went out of the room to give the new parents some time alone with their son.

She sat on the long seats along the corridor and dialed Ryoma's number on her celphone. It rang a few times before she was answered by the (what do you call that?) answering machine.

"Ryoma, where are you? Call me after you hear this. I'm going home now." Was the message she left.

What if Ryoma is still in the house? Maybe she'll have to go there and tell him personally.

She went back inside the room and told Momo, Ann was already asleep, that she was going home to get Ryoma's butt in the hospital to visit.

"I'd like to go with you, Sakuno-chan. The way to your house is creepy at hours like this." Momo asked.

"No…please no…Ann would need some help when she wakes up…I could manage on my own." with that, she left the still reluctant Momo in the hospital. When she got outside, she went to the nearest waiting shed and waited for a cab. There was no vehicle in sight.

Then she thought about the new personal driver they had hired. Though Ryoma did not approve of him because he said, "I don't like how that man looks at you, Sakuno." She just went and hired the poor man because he said no other people would take his services. Yes, Ryoma was correct because Sakuno also don't like how that driver looks at her when there are just the two of them in the car. But what if she is just misunderstanding the situation and the man means no harm. Wouldn't it be unfair to fire him? And because Sakuno had insisted that he stay, Ryoma just won't let her drive alone with the man.

"No other choice." She dialed the celphone number of her driver and 10 minutes later, a black car could be seen running down the highway towards her. It stopped in front of her and she got in.

"I want to go home…as fast as you could." She instructed the driver. Is it just her or the car smelled of alcohol? Oh well, now is not the time to think about that, she just opened the window and let the cold night air wash away the smell.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Eiji was in Ryoma's new house at that time, both were smeared with white paint from head to toe.

"Do you think we're doing it the right way?" Ryoma asked his sempai.

"Of course, just trust me." Eiji said as he painted the wall white.

"Why do we need to do this thing by ourselves? I could pay people to do it in a cleaner way." He retorted.

"Wouldn't you like to say that you painted your house to your wife? In old times, it is the husband's job to, nya."

"Ok I'm done…" Ryoma stepped down from the ladder and so does Kikumaru.

"Isn't it beautiful?" they both looked around at the room they've been in for the last six hours, it was ugly in Ryoma's point of view and not something to be proud of. There were some parts that the paint isn't even and some still have little patches of black.

"It's ugly."

"You really think so?"

"Yeah."

"Thanks. You just ruined my self confidence." With that, Eiji's phone rang and it was Riko.

He excused himself for a moment before coming back inside the room after his conversation with Riko.

"Riko said that Ann gave birth two hours ago. She said she'll be meeting us by the hospital, twenty minutes from now."

"Hey, Sakuno went there a while ago…is she still at the hospital?"

"I did not ask…maybe she's still there! Let's go!" both of them shook out of their white working clothes.

"The paint seeped went to my sleeve." Ryoma retorted as he searched his clothes if there was anything that was not supposed to be there.

Eiji was tying his shoelaces. "My car or yours?"

"Mine, of course…"

They went out of the now empty house and got into Eiji's car. Soon they were on their way to the hospital.

**0---0---0---0---0**

Ryoma and Eiji are now on the highway when Eiji's car tire went flat.

"We have a big problem." Eiji whispered.

"I know….fix it now."

Both of them went out of the car which Eiji had managed to park at the sides of the highway. There was a spare tire at the back so they had no problem with fixing it. But still it would take time.

Because they were both looking down at the flat tire that time, they did not see Sakuno's car speed by on the other side of the road.

**0---0---0---0---0**

Sakuno arrived in the house. Though the road was dark because they were the only ones who lived in that area, Sakuno arrived home safely. She got out of the car and went inside.

The house was dark so she had to use the light emanating from her celphone to find the switch. She found it and the house emanated brightly. She ran up the stairs thinking that Ryoma would just be sleeping in their room.

"Ryoma." she called when she arrived at the door to their room.

He was not there. That means no one was in the house at that time. She turned around to see the driver behind her, grinning wickedly at her.

"Ryoma's not here…I think he went back to the hospital." She said as she started to put as much space between them but the driver grabbed her hand and she started screaming.

**0—0---0---0---0**

"Are you done?" Ryoma asked Eiji.

"Yeah, almost done." Eiji said as he finished putting in the last screw. "There…as good as new…" he reached into his pocket to pull out his handkerchief to wipe out his sweat but it wasn't there. His wallet wasn't there either.

"I think we have to go back Ryoma. I forgot my driver's license at your house. We might be caught." Eiji said.

"Better give Sakuno a call or she'll wonder where I am." Ryoma turned on his celphone. "Sakuno left me a message."

"Let's hear it."

_"Ryoma, where are you? Call me after you hear this. I'm going home now."_

"What?"

"What time was that made?"

"20 minutes ago. She should have arrived home by then. We just missed her!"

**0---0---0---0---0**

Eiji and Ryoma went as fast as they could back to Ryoma's house. Even if they were still far, they could see that the lights were turned on in the house.

"She's there."

They turned right as the gates automatically opened to let them in.

They were now driving in the private road to Ryoma's house when the lights in front of the car lighted something on the ground. The sight shook Ryoma to the core.

"Sakuno!" he ran out the car and went to Sakuno. He picked her up and laid her head on his lap.

"What's going on here?" Eiji asked.

"Sakuno…" Ryoma whispered.

"She jumped." Eiji concluded, based on the position Sakuno was in, it was directly below the terrace in Ryoma's room.

Ryoma tried to feel if she was breathing. She wasn't. He tried to feel if her heart is still beating. It isn't.

"I already called an ambulance, they'll be here any minute now." Eiji said as he fought the tears that formed in his eyes.

"Sakuno…Sakuno…" Ryoma called as he shook Sakuno. Still she remained motionless.

"Hey, stop that! You'll only aggravate the situation. There is still hope!" Eiji shouted at Ryoma, he was in panic also, but trying to calm down.

Ryoma stopped. He wiped the tears that were flowing from his eyes without his knowledge. He let go of Sakuno's body and gave it to Eiji. He disappeared inside the house and all Eiji could hear were loud crashing noises and cries of lament from his friend.

It should have been a happy day for them all but it turned out to be the worst. The princess had died. And so does the prince.

Soon Eiji could hear the sound of the ambulance coming towards him. He looked at the lifeless Sakuno in his hands, wondering how such tragedy could affect their lives...especially Ryoma's.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

**Tune in next chapter to find out what really happened to Sakuno! I'm so happy…don't get mad at me! Please review…**


	22. Chapter 20: The Prince and his Princess

**Hello! This is the second to the last chapter! Hope you enjoy reading (though I guess you still won't) anyway, thank you for reading our story so far! Jasmin and Aziel love you all so much…This is again dedicated to Nikaella because of her ummm…her…never mind that's just it. I'm currently listening to Daidai by Chatmonchy (12****th**** Bleach ending song) kinda love it…"Please don't go anymore!" **

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**Chapter 20: The Prince and his Princess**

The next day was nothing but gloomy. Snow fell all night so the landscapes are covered by white cold fabric that seemed to be endless. Soon, the sound of a car could be heard along the road to a white villa. It looked so beautiful outside, the rich furnishing and the vines creeping along the side as if they were really placed there. But inside, the house cried. It's new mistress had suffered a terrible fate last night. The master was rushed to the hospital because of having too much alcohol. The whole house was a mess. But 3 people were gathered inside, talking of what to do.

"Coach went to Kyoto last night in a hurry. She just said there was an emergency in there or something and that she's needed. But she also assured that she'd be coming back today. Who else?" Oishi said to his companions, Fuji and Inui.

"Is Tomoka already informed?" he asked.

"Yes I already told her myself, she won't stop crying so I stayed with her." Fuji answered.

"All right, that's all. Coach said to keep it really private. Just between close friends. She won't even release it to the media." Oishi said.

"Does the police know what happened last night in here?" Tezuka asked his friends. They both nodded.

_Once Sakuno had arrived home, the first thing she did was turn on the lights because it was so dark. Then she rushed to their bedroom because she thought that Ryoma might be seeping in there. She turned on the lights but nobody was there, meaning that the house was completely empty._

_She turned to go back to the car but she found the driver standing behind her. She nervously tried to get as much space between them because she could smell alcohol in the air. It made her want to throw up._

_"__Ryoma's not here…I think he went back to the hospital." She walked away from him but he suddenly grabbed her hand. Sakuno was so scared that she started screaming._

_"Stop screaming young lady. I won't hurt you." he covered her mouth with his hand that almost silenced her. She was crying so hard. He was so close she could feel him breathe down her neck. It made her struggle even more to get away from him._

_He put his other arm around her arms and dragged her to the bedroom. He tossed her on the bed and covered her body with his. Sakuno started pounding on his shoulders trying to force him to get off her._

_"Get off me you bastard!" she yelled, hitting him in the head with her fists as hard as she could. Then when it won't work, she slapped him. This caused him to stop what he was doing at look at her angrily, slapping her face harder._

_"I told you to keep quiet, you bitch!" he shouted at the silenced Sakuno._

_Sakuno tried to think of a way to get away. 'This man is going to kill me…I must get away' she thought. But she was interrupted when the man started ripping her dress. That made her scream again and kick him accidentally in the knees. He went off her to massage his left knee which she kicked. _

_"Aaahhh…I'll kill you…" he said, hopping on his other foot but she was no longer on the bed. "Where did she go?" but he soon found his answer when he heard someone's gasp coming from the terrace. He grinned wickedly and walked to the direction. He saw Sakuno cower in fear in a corner of the veranda. He walked slowly to her, taking off his shirt in the process._

_"No…I…Please…No…Stop…" she babbled on but he was still coming close. She slowly stood up also and was leaning against the waist high wall in the veranda, as if willing it to extend more so she could run. But it would never extend so she unconsciously climbed up and stood on top of it. She was now one step closer to fall on the ground or either raped by a drunken maniac._

_"You're mine at last, Sakuno." The man reached out his hands to grab her feet but he did not have the chance to reach them for Sakuno was not there anymore._

_'I'm so sorry…Ryoma-kun' she thought before she was consumed by the darkness she had let herself fall into._

_"Drats…that bitch escaped…" the man murmured before getting his shirt back on and went downstairs and into the liquor bar. He grabbed a bottle of the strongest alcohol he could find and chugged it down._

_After a few minutes of downing one bottle after another, he stood up and went out of the house through the back door. He then walked aimlessly in the dark. Not being in his sober state, he did not see the a deep well in front of him and he eventually fell in. The rest was history._

"He's dead…he drowned. He was asleep when he fell." Oishi narrated.

"I think that's fortunate for him…coz Ryoma would surely shred his body limb by limb when he's sober enough." Fuji said.

Ryoma is still in the hospital. After he went inside the house last night, he looked for evidence as to what or who made her jump and then leave her in the cold. But still, he blamed himself that he let it happen in the first place. With that in mind, he was consumed by his guilt and he tossed around the porcelains, the glasses, the furniture almost turning his house upside down, calling his wife's name. Three hours later, Tezuka and Oishi arrived and saw Ryoma's poor state. He was lying on the floor, bottles of liquor littered the floor. He was lying on some pieces of glass that some of them pierced his skin so he was bleeding. So they rushed him to the hospital.

"Coach insisted that Sakuno's wake would be tomorrow. I think she's asking a favor that we cremate Sakuno. Maybe she can't stand to see her sweet granddaughter being the one who died first." Fuji added.

"Then tomorrow, we'll arrange for her to be cremated. Does anyone know why she doesn't want this to leak out in the media? Sakuno is a famous person, and her long disappearance won't go unnoticed." Tezuka asked.

"We don't know but Coach should have her reasons. Let's just leave her at that." Oishi said.

Fuji looked at his watch and told his friends that they need to visit Ryoma in the hospital to see if he could make it at Sakuno's wake.

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**Hello people…So you won't get angry, I won't pretend that I know how Japanese funerals go…all I know is they either cremate or bury the body of dead people. So I'll just stick to what I know. **

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"Sorry, but Mr. Echizen is in no state to leave this hospital for even a week. He can't go anywhere. He's in there if you want to see him, but I bet he's still asleep. Please do be silent, he needs to recuperate badly. Why did he drown himself in alcohol anyway? Did he and his wife not have a happy marriage?" the nurse taking care of Ryoma asked them.

"Ummm…you see…we had this drinking game last night…so he was expecting to win so…" Oishi tried to think up of an excuse.

"And also he had cuts in his arms and there were small glass pieces pierced in his skin. That's all." The nurse left them when some other patient called her attention.

"Do you think he'll get angry if he could not see Sakuno one last time?" Fuji said.

"But what could we do? He's still not-Coach?" Oishi was interrupted by the appearance of their Coach and Eiji. He looked like they were fighting because they heard her telling him to shut up. When the two had seen Tezuka, Oishi and Fuji they both stopped their discussion and Eiji tried to look away and avoid their gazes.

Though she had just lost Sakuno, the Coach retained her usual look, like that terrorizing one, she was almost stoic like Tezuka, you just can't guess what's in her head.

"I would like to bury my granddaughter in utmost privacy. Please do so…let the media wonder where she is as long as they don't feast on the news that she's dead and speculate funny stories how she died and won't give her the peace she deserves." The coach said.

"Hai!" the four could do nothing more than to follow her wishes. She's the most affected one about the death of Sakuno, and with the state she's in, it would be best not to argue with her anymore.

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"May Ryoma find the heart to forgive me someday." Eiji thought to himself as he drove alone in his car, not minding the tears falling from his eyes. He had just joined in a conspiracy so great that he can't even find the courage to face his friend again. It was so wrong, so wrong. But Eiji was made to believe that it would be for the best and for everyone to move on with their lives. He was made to believe that it would cause the lesser pain, especially on Ryoma's part.

"I would never want to hurt anyone…Ryoma…Sakuno…" he slumped himself in the wheels and for the last time in his life, he chose to cry.

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**The next chapter would be the conclusion to my story…so please don't forget to review! If forced to…I could do things…even the unthinkable…REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!**

**Daidai is so wonderful…I'm going ballistic tomorrow! I'm planning to make the ending as happy…if possible…and promise me to wait for…**

**MY GAME, YOUR WORLD 2: REMATCH**

**Coming to theaters next next next next next next next week…tickets never on sale… **

**Nah…just joking…I'll post it next month when I've typed 5 chapters and gather more medical information on the matter…I need more than a miracle to make my story plausible…and also watch out for…**

**MY GAME, YOUR WORLD: In between**

**Do support that one…I've been thinking of more stories one's brain could carry…speak of multi-tasking imagination…**

**"****Maketaku naishi! Nakitaku naishi! Warattetai kara! MOVIN! MOVIN! Maketaku naishi! Nakitaku naishi! Warattetai kara! MOVIN! MOVIN! Maketaku naishi! Nakitaku naishi! Warattetai kara! MOVIN! MOVIN!"  
**


	23. Chapter 21: Tomorrow is still unwritten

**Hello everyone! This is the conclusion to my first ever fanfic-My Game, Your World- …thanks for supporting this story from the beginning…even if I made mistakes, got off tangent with the real plot or just plain wrong…that's normal because it's the first time I ever wrote a story and have everybody read it…I always keep my imagination to myself…I'm posting this a little earlier than expected because in just a few more days, my mind would be filled with Resident Evil: Extinction…the movie I'm very eager to watch…It's on September 26, goddammit!!! I have to wait until Saturday so I could go to the movies!!! Argghh!!! And in our field demo, we are going to dance 'Thriller'! I've mastered the steps after a week! Yehey! And then we'll also do 'We're all in this together' from High School Musical-for finale.**

**Yeah I know…I'm blabbering too much…It's just that I don't want to end this yet…but I have to…I already said so in my latest chapter…So before I shoot myself in the head so I could join the ranks of the zombies, I present to you, the final chapter…**

**BG Music: CRYING SKY by Ryoma Echizen…again and again and so on…**

**Chapter 21: Tomorrow is still unwritten**

The next day, it was still gloomier than ever. The sun must have refused to shine. It was so quiet, so much for the day before Christmas. Yes, it was December 24, Ryoma's birthday, but nobody felt like being happy today and hold a party for him. They were all clad in black and is standing along a wooden platform in a huge lake near Ryoma's new house. The lake wasn't frozen and the water remained still. The peace is so perfect that anytime now, someone might try to ruin the perfection the lake was illuminating while their lives are far from the beauty it should have been.

There are only 10 people present at the time. The parents of the deceased had died three years ago in a fatal car crash. Only her friends went to her wake, because the others can't be contacted and because the news shouldn't spread that she is really dead. Her best friend had already stopped crying, seeing that there were no more tears left to fall. She had mourned for her enough and it's about time that they said she should let go.

A red-headed young man got into a small boat with the old woman and rowed for her until they reached the center of the lake.

There, the old woman opened the urn and reached inside, once she got some ashes in her hand, she toss it into the water. The lake accepted the ashes and let it drown in its peace. Some of it went to the air and the air gladly carried them away, as the minutes passed, there was nothing left in the pearl white urn and they rowed back to the people waiting at the wooden platform.

No one uttered a word as Eiji helped Ryuzaki-sensei out of the small boat.

"I want to go back to Kyoto now…thank you for being here." The old woman announced to all of them.

"But why? Are you alone?" Oishi asked.

"I think it's more peaceful and the sceneries are something I don't want to miss now that I'm old." The Coach replied with a smile on her face. "And I hired a maid to assist me in my needs, so don't worry about me…just inform me if you want to visit me if you have the time."

"Won't you like to wait for Ryoma to wake up?" Fuji said.

"Just tell him what he missed when he's in the hospital, and tell him I'm sorry." With that, the Coach went to her own car and told the driver that they are finished and should go home.

"I wonder what Echizen would say when he finds out that we rushed things in his sleep." Taka said.

"We're going to visit Echizen in the hospital, anyone else wanna go?" Inui told them. He, Fuji, Taka and Kaidoh are going to the hospital to see if Ryoma had woken up.

"I wanna come, nya!"

All looked at his sudden burst of energy. He had been silent that day, which could have hurt him.

"Yeah…the more the better…the nurses must be feasting on Ryoma by now." Fuji tried to lighten up the mood a bit.

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**1 month later…**

Ryoma stepped into the terrace in his new penthouse, a few hundred feet away from the ground. He just moved in two nights ago and is still adjusting to the ambience and warmth of the house. It's particularly large for him, the only inhabitant there. Momo and the others helped him move his things yesterday so everything is in order. He was carrying a cup of coffee in his hands while looking down on the bustling city below. It was daybreak and on the table behind him, the morning newspaper was laden.

Then he heard some meowing below him and he rephrased the sentence that he's alone there. Karupin and Karin's descendants were present. There are about 5 furry little thick furred cats ranging from snow white to brown. He patted all of them before shooing them so he could have a moment alone and enjoy the breeze blowing on his face. It was so cold and refreshing.

He sipped his coffee and held it with both hands to keep them warm. Ryoma leaned on the wall and pondered how fast his life had been.

He had been out of the hospital for about three weeks now and he is doing well enough. Liquors and other kinds of alcohol were put out of his house so he won't think about using it when he had problems. Then, Ryoma doesn't depend on alcohol most of the time. Nor does he have problems worth escaping. He'll just have to stand again when he falls, no big deal. No big deal.

Then comes the news that his wife is dead.

How pathetic had he been?

How low had he stooped?

How cruel had life been to him?

"Sakuno."

He remembered how scared he had been. He was scared that she is already dead. He was scared that she'll never talk to him again. He was scared that she'll never smile at him again. He was scared that the most important person to him was lost. He was scared to lose her. But lose her he did. And there was never a chance to turn back and undo what had happened. It was so tragic.

After losing his hope that she is alive, he went inside the house to find any evidence as to who did that to her, but finding nothing, frustration engulfed him and all he could do is cry for what he had lost.

He woke up one week later in the hospital, cords attached to him and he felt so hopeless.

Now here he is, three weeks later. In a new home, away from that white villa that seemed to be filled with the memories of Sakuno, it was also filled with the horror that happened there, so he decided to leave.

And to think that he wasn't sober enough at her wake is saddening him the most. He did not even see her one last time, or even said sorry. How hateful must he been in her eyes now wherever she is.

Ryoma smiled.

Be happy.

That was all she said when he was frowning when they are together.

Looking down on the city and the height he is in, he was tempted to jump and fall to his death. Would that suffice for the wrong he blames himself he had done? But then, the wind blew on his face, along with it the memory of that walk from six years ago.

_"If I die, what would you do?"_

_"If you die, what would I do? What do you want me to do?" he asked, confused. Why is she so interested in death anyway? "I'll live for the both of us."_

_Sakuno adjusted her position on his back so she could she his face. "How could you live for the both of us, Ryoma-kun? Would you still love me by then?"_

_"Hn." He just smirked at her._

_"Ne, what kind of answer was that? I wanna know."_

_"No…because you're not going anywhere…and why are you asking things like you're going to die?"_

_"I don't know, Ryoma-kun…I just want to know how you'll feel…"_

_"And about that last part…what makes you think I won't love you by then?_

_"Anou…because I'm dead?"_

And what is he doing now? He was very eager to follow her to the dead. What a shameful way to react.

"I'll live for the both of us."

What was he thinking when he said that? He can't even understand how the hell he'll do that. And now what? Should he continue to love her, even though she's dead?

Standing by his words by then is very hard now. It would be tested if he just lied and just want to appear cool. He'll have keep his promise and live for them both, and jumping from a 40 storey building is not a choice.

"O'chibi!" came a voice from inside his house.

"Eiji-sempai." He whispered then went back inside his house.

"Yosh!" Momo greeted him once he had entered. Eiji, Momo and Fuji were in the house.

"What is it you want this early in the morning?" Ryoma asked them, sitting on the couch.

"Well, wanna play tennis today?" Momo said.

"I'm in no mood to play yet."

"But you haven't played for a long time, nya! Just a match!" Eiji tried to persuade him.

"Can't you just let me sleep all day?" Ryoma asked.

"You've been cooped up here for about a two days now…you should get out…get some fresh air…" Momo said.

"But…"

"Neh, Ryoma, what are you going to do now?" Fuji asked out of the blue.

Ryoma fell silent for a second. He stared at them, his friends, and they were silent too, anticipating his answer.

"I don't want to do anything else now…I'm sworn forever…I'll never think of forgetting her again."

"I see…I hope you won't tire down…" Fuji said.

"I hope so too…"

After a few minutes the three left, leaving Ryoma alone in his house again. He then basked in the cold silence it gave him and he felt dizzy and soon he let sleep consume him.

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Ryoma was walking in an unknown place. The walls were of pure white and there was nobody in the halls. It felt scary because it looked like one of those corridors in the horror films. He walked in the fairly lit hallway and looked at the various doors that seemed to be hundreds.

He then stopped when he saw a familiar figure come out of a room. It was Coach Ryuzaki and she looked as if she was about to cry. He approached her but when he touched her she wouldn't even acknowledge his presence, as if he wasn't there.

"What are you doing here, Coach?" he still called her Coach even if she wasn't his mentor ever since he graduated from Seigaku.

She did not answer him so he just looked at the door through which she came out.

**Ryuzaki Sakuno.**

Yes, it was clearly written in the sign on the door in bold black letters.

What again?

His lips formed a frown and he turned the doorknob. Is this for real? Was she in a hospital?

He opened it and peered inside. It was white. There was a small wooden table and a couch as well as a phone. In the side of the room near the window was a bed and someone was occupying it.

"Sakuno?" Ryoma felt his eyes start to water when he saw her sleeping figure in the bed.

He sat on the seat that was next to the bed. He took hold of her warm hand and held it to his face. She seemed to be asleep, since there are no life support systems attached to her so she couldn't be in a coma, could she?

"Sakuno, wake up…I'm here…" he said to her.

Still no answer came to him, nor did she show any sign that she'll wake up soon. She just lay still, breathing the only movement in her body.

Then a strong wind blew from the open windows and he closed his eyes.

Ryoma woke up with a start. He was sweating profusely and his bed was tossed around his pillows and blanket littered the floor.

"Sakuno…" he whispered then tried to reminisce his dream again and again and again.

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"Isn't she beautiful?"

And then she opened her eyes and life came back to the world and the game would come into play again, for those who suffered will rise once again.

**THE END**

**THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!!**

**Wait for ****My Game, Your World 2: Rematch!!!!!**

**Thanks again… **

**BG MUSIC: "Another Story" by Ryoma Echizen**


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